Crazy Is Perfect
by gleeme33
Summary: Sequel to Close Enough To Normal. Rachel and Kurt are on Broadway now, there careers growing, and Finn and Blaine are left in Lima, left to miss them. Follow their adventures as they try to re-learn that there will always be light. Finchel, Klaine
1. Author's Note, Full Summary and Prolog

_Author's Note_

My dear readers, I can't even tell you how incredibly excited I am to be typing this! _Crazy Is Perfect _is here! _Yaaaay_! This is the sequel, for those of you who are reading this and might not know, to be previous story called _Close Enough To Normal_. If this looks interesting to you and you want to read it, I'd suggest you read _CE2N _first, okay? For my returning readers – here we are. Wow, I never thought this little saga would bring me so much joy, not to mention make me some new friends, and rekindle friendships with some old ones. Thank you for believing in _CE2N _like I first did. Like I said – here we are! :) For the first time in this story, thanks and enjoy!

_Full Summary _

With Rachel Berry's seventeenth birthday come a lot of things she didn't expect one year ago. She has a boyfriend now, Finn Hudson, who loves her. She has a career now, with the cast of Broadway's _Next To Normal_, which supports her. And she has a _Tony Award _nomination, for best supporting actress in a musical, which empowers her. That's not all Rachel Berry has gained over the past year, either – she's gained a mother in Shelby, a best friend in Kurt Hummel, a mature, balanced relationship with her character Natalie. But with the colder weather and darker nights in New York City comes change in ways Rachel herself could have never foreseen – new chances, new friends, and new directions to head in. With Kurt Hummel and his now-growing Broadway career starting to take off as well, Rachel learns that there are some changes that you just can't avoid; some new directions you just have to take. Meanwhile, in Lima, Finn and Blaine learn themselves that it's not about the distance between bodies that truly matters; it's the distance between hearts.

_Couples_

Finchel, Klaine, Quick, Brittana, Wemma, and more may come in later, along with some real people ships.

_Friendships_

Rachel/Kurt, Finn/Blaine, Blaine/Rachel, Rachel/Puck, Quinn/Finn, Finn/Puck, Puck/Kurt, Rachel/Quinn, Santana/Kurt, and more may come in later, along with some real people friendships.

_Prolog_

He watches Kyle Dean Massey's vlogs.

For _hours _at a time.

Yes, it was November now, and two whole months had gone by without her here with him. Two whole months, and Finn didn't know how he stayed sane. His days, of course, were torturous – he'd see Quinn and Puck strolling down the halls, hand-in-hand, giggling to each other and he'd look over and…be alone. Every single day after school Finn would run upstairs, grab his laptop, and open his inbox faster then his mother could ask him about his school day, and when his inbox had a new email in it from Rachel, his heart soared…when it didn't, though, the opposite happened.

_She's working_, he'd tell himself. _It's not like she just doesn't bother to email – she would if she could but she's working. Rachel's doing eight Broadway shows a week now; she's busier then you'll ever be! It's not that she's forgotten you here in this one-horse town, it's not that she's forgotten about how much you love each other…she's working. She's working, she's working…_

Then one day, Kyle Dean Massey started posting vlogs – his and Bobby Spencer's way of saying 'video blogs' – called _Normal Life: Backstage at Next To Normal_ – _staring Kyle Dean Massey_. And it was just that – Kyle as he'd conical life backstage at the heart-jerking musical. So Finn would watch. He'd watch as if a miracle might happen, and Kyle Dean Massey would take him along on his backstage adventures. It's the third vlog when she finally shows up.

"Hey." She says jokingly, an iced-coffee in hand.

"Hey!" Kyle Dean mimics her off-camera.

"It's Rachel."

"It's Rachel!" He mimics again. "And there's Alice Ripley!" The camera shoots quickly to Alice as she's climbing a flight of stairs, and the powerhouse of a woman waves curtly to the camera with a wink as she walks on.

"It's just another night on Broadway…" Rachel laughs and directs the camera back at her, saying: "No – no, enough about her, this is about _me _right now!" And Kyle Dean Massey all but burst out laughing. She signs her initials, _RBB, _in big, curly letters on the call board and takes another big sip of her _Starbucks _iced-coffee.

"Wait a minute, what _is _tonight?" KD asked unseen.

"Monday…"

"Monday? The theater's dark on Monday, why are we here?"

"I don't know…" Rachel says as if she's magically become Brittany.

"What _are _we _doing here_?"

And Finn watches from behind the computer screen in awe – the two cast members look on in almost the same awe at a note left by Louis Hobson, their co-star and now father, about his new son, Thomas Richard Hobson. She mentions after that that she'll be doing a concert with Adam Chanler-Beret, her Henry in the show, when a poster for the event is shown to the camera, and when Kyle says his idea of a fun time is doodling a mustache on her and devil-horns on Adam, she says:

"You could get in trouble for stuff like that around here…" and, like Brittany again: "I literally wrote…the word 'party'…on a piece of paper hanging up in the stage-printer's office and…and I got banned from the office…"

"Hey, let's take them on a tour of the office!" Kyle Dean suggests and Rachel stays back, of course, because according to what she just said, she's banned from the office. "…and in honor of Thomas Richard Hobson, we have a…um, sort of an interview with Louis that I'll play for you guys – "

" – Wait, close up on my new sneaks!"

"Oh, okay…" he moves the camera and it focuses on Rachel's new, green _Converse _sneakers. She smiles bigly at the camera and does a cute little happy-dance. "Wow," says Kyle. "Rachel got new sneaks, Louis got a new baby…"

"Everyone's happy!" She giggles. "Yeah, _Next To Normal_!"

"…And I got _nothin'_!" He laughs too. "Bye!"

Another time, Kyle Dean, Louis, Adam, Aaron, Meg and Rachel are gathered in Kyle's dressing room. It's the first time Finn's seen Meghann since she left Lima, and he suddenly realizes that he misses the once co-director of New Directions…he never realized that in one summer he'd make so many memories, meet so many great people.

"Hey, it's Kyle Dean Massey! And…" the cast members fill in the blank as the video camera swerves toward them.

"Louis Hobson!"

"Adam Chanler-Beret!" His mouth is full already of the food they're about to eat together.

"Aaron Tveit!" He winks at the camera.

"Meghann Fahy!" She gives a little wave, and the camera turns to Rachel; see narrows her eyes and says:

"Alice Ripley."

And the room explodes with laughter.

So yes, he is guilty of watching every single one of Kyle Dean's vlogs…

Because Christmas is still a month away.

**What'd you guys think? What'd you guys think? What'd you guys think? :)**


	2. Happy Birthday, Rachel

**So here's the first official chapter…gahhhhh so excited! Please, please remember to review and tell me what you think! Lyrics are at the bottom, and again: **_**Next To Normal **_**belongs to Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey and any other writers/lyricists involved who deserve credit, and not me…unfortunately. Natalie Goodman does not belong to me and neither does any of the other characters. Natalie was originated on Broadway by (the **_**amazing**_**) Jennifer Damiano, finalized on Broadway by Meghann Fahy, and played on the first National tour of the show by Emma Hunton. **

**GOOD NEWS! I just found out why Jenn Damiano left **_**SMTOTD**_**! It's 'cause she got cast in a pilot for a TV show! :D You know I'd watch whatever show it is if Jenn's in it! Anyway, yeah, super happy she didn't just leave us for no reason! :) Thanks and enjoy!**

"…_I found myself learning more about _myself _on stage then I ever did in real life at some point during _Next To Normal, _and I truly realized the beautiful, tremendous, extraordinary gift that is preforming. Looking back now, I really think the most important thing about acting _[on Broadway] _is to make sure you know who _you _are before you try to become some character onstage. Remember – you are the character, but the character is not you…_" – Jennifer Damiano

_Chapter One_

_Rachel's POV_

For some strange reason, I am not surprised when I walked into my shared Manhattan apartment and see my roommates as such: Molly is laying on a beach towel on the floor, covered in fake-blood, as Annaleigh is bending over her trying to get it off her face with baby-wipes, while Laura is standing in front of the mirror with a fake gun reciting one of Bonnie Parker's poems with a fake Western accent that Kyle Dean would be ashamed of, Josie is speaking rapidly in Spanish with her phone to her ear, and Krysta and Meghann are no where to be found.

"Um…guys?"

They all whip around and look at me with big eyes. There's silence until Josie puts her phone away and says:

"_Lo arruinó la sorpresa_!" I have no idea what she's saying, and neither does anyone else in the room. "_Lo arruinó_!" She continues. "_Lo arruinó_!"

"_Josie_!" Laura finally snapped. "In English,_ por favor_!"

"Wait," I said, putting my hand out to say 'stop'. "First – explain. I thought Halloween was last month."

"_Howdy_!" Laura said with a wink. "Guess who just got her casting results? You're lookin' at Bonnie Parker!"

"No way!" I cheered. "You got the female lead in _Bonnie And Clyde_?"

"Sure did, sugar!" She said with another wink and a still-terrible accent as I walked over to Molly and Annaleigh.

"So, uh…" You're expecting me to be at a loss right now, right? Nope. "Early _Carrie _rehearsal again, Mol?"

"Umm-hmm," she murmured as Josie came over with another box of wipes. "Thanks."

"_Denada_," and then: "…erm, uh…_you are welcome_."

"Good!" I tried not to laugh. "Very good, Jo-jo. You'll have proper English down in no time! Now where's K and Meg?" Everyone went silent, looking at each other and not me – you could hear a pin drop, and then – I was answered.

"_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Rachel, happy birthday to you!_"

"You guys!" in came Krysta and Meg with a box of _Magnolia Bakery_ cupcakes – the best in New York City and possibly the whole world.

"And this is just the beginning…" Meg started as everyone grabbed a cupcake. "It's the big one-seven, Rach – how do you feel?"

"Not much different, to tell the truth…" I said with a mouth full of red velvet cupcake.

"Presents – presents – _p_-_p_-_p_-presents!" Krysta cheered.

"Not now, guys, Meg and I are late as is – "

"Oh, yeah, we _should _get going – there's a _great surprise _coming!"

"Can I tell her?" Annaleigh asked, and everyone at the same time screamed:

"_No_!"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

This was it. My ecstasy. My culmination. My climax. Everything I've ever been working for is here. I've made it. I am here.

Now here I stood in front of my full-length mirror, in my dressing room at the Booth Theater on Broadway. Natalie's first costume – pajama pants check, pajama top – check, light pink long sleeve top that's super comfy – check, the theater version of _UGG _slippers – check… Okay. Fifteen minutes 'til places. Time to warm up.

"_It's just another day!_" I sang into the mirror. "_Daaaa-AAAA-aaay!_"

"Knock, knock!" It was Kyle Dean's voice. "C'mon, Rach, I'm gonna vlog in a minute!"

"Okay!" I yelled, and after slipping into Natalie's shoes I opened the door.

It wasn't just Kyle and his video camera – it was the whole cast, understudies, crew, and everyone else who works at the Booth theater. The vlog was rolling, and Kyle Dean informed the camera that it was my seventeenth birthday as everyone gathered sang to me the same song the girls sang this morning. Alice Ripley, not as Diana this time, was holding a birthday cake decked out with candles.

"Thanks, guys," I laughed, and blew out the candles. "Thanks for everything. You guys really are my family."

"Just wait…" Meg murmured excitedly, everyone but her starting to clear out, cutting into the cake in Adam's and Louis's dressing room.

"What do you – ?"

_Oh. _That's what.

"_Finn_!"

And everything was right.

"But – but – how? Oh, I don't care…" and he kissed me.

"I know, Rach," he said after our lips parted. "I've missed you so much…"

"_Ahem_!"

"Kurt! Blaine!" I gave them each a hug. "Kurt-y, how's _Wonderland_? And Blaine, how are the Warblers?" Then, in Finn's direction "How's New Directions? How's _Lima_?" Before he could answer though, I added: "You know what?" And with the close of my dressing room door, I pulled a Laura Bell Bundy-approved thirty-second-quick-change but into my clothes; Natalie's in my hands. "Hey, Meg!" I through my first costume at her. "You're on tonight. I'm gonna show these guys around town!"

"Really, Rachel?" Blaine asked giddily, his hand intertwined with Kurt's. "That's awesome!"

"Really."

"Are you sure?" Both Meg and Finn asked at the same time, and Finn added:

"Rach, I know you don't like to miss shows, and you don't have to – "

" – I _want _to, really," I said. "You okay to go on, Meghann?"

"Sure," she said. "No problem. Go have a fun night out on the town, you pairs of love-birds, you!" She made a kiss-y-face and, before walking into her dressing room to change, added: "And happy birthday, Rachel."

And, with Finn at my side, it would be the best birthday yet.

**Sorry, this was meant to be longer, but I wanted to post what I had before the weekend ends. Next chapter = Rachel's and Kurt's New York tour for Finn and Blaine, and then we'll catch up with Kurt some more! So, review?**


	3. There Was Bliss

**Sorry it's taken so long! I'm in the school play and opening night's December 8****th**** so we're working hard! :) This is sort of my own, New York adventure version of the day after **_**The First Time**_**, as told by Finn and Blaine while they watch an interview Kurt and Rachel gave to the zany Broadway interviewer, Susan Blackwell! Complete with flashbacks to the previous NYC-birthday-tastic-virginity-loosing-adventure! :) So yeah, remember to review please! If lyrics are needed, they will always be at the bottom. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_yeah, when I really stop and think about, all I can think is 'wow, I've been so, so lucky.' And, I mean, _that _production, too, [_Next To Normal_] the amount of growth and love and light…and the parts of myself I had to access to play that particular role…it was all just an incredible journey for me, and I'll never, never forget my time as Natalie Goodman_." – Jennifer Damiano

_Chapter Two_

_Blaine's POV_

None of the four of us will forget that night.

But now, unfortunately, the next day goes on.

"Blaine!" Finn yelled from down the hallway. In about a second, he ran into me by my locker, took my by the collar of my snazzy shirt, and dragged me into the boy's bathroom.

"Umm…I thought you were straight…"

"I _am_, Warbler. Check this out!" He whipped out his _IPhone _and pulled up _YouTube_. In the search bar, he typed '_Side By Side By Susan Blackwell – Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel'_, and pressed enter. In about thirty seconds, his choice video appeared on screen.

"What…?"

"Just watch," He said, and turned the volume up to full blast. On screen appeared a bunch of Broadway stars, flipping back and forth from one to the next. Among them were Sutton Foster, Jonathon Groff, Rachel's co-star J. Robert Spencer, Kurt's co-star Darren Ritchie, and more. Each sang a part of the theme song that went:

_Magical mornings, and afternoon delights – _

_(Clap, clap, clap!)_

_Far out friends, and fab-taboo-lious nights – _

_Come on and sit side by side,_

_By Susan Blackwell!_

_(Sit that sorry-ass down!)_

_And get side by side,_

_Come on get side by side_

_By Susan Blackwell!_

Then, Susan Blackwell herself appeared on screen. She must've been in her early, maybe even mid-thirties, with dyed, blonde-ish-brown hair and green, almost grey eyes. The said '_10:07 am_' before flashing to a close up of Susan herself.

"Morning! It is 10:07 am, and I am the infamous Susan Blackwell…" She said, mimosa in hand. "We are here, at an undisclosed New York apartment, with…" the camera panned to see Rachel sitting next to her on an unmade bed. "Rachel Berry! Good morning, Rachel…"

She laughed, and said: "Good morning, Susan," with a cup of coffee in her hand instead. They had what looked like plates of French toast on their laps, and the camera swerved and zoomed to what looked like Central Park. It said _2:55 pm_, and we saw the same interviewer with Kurt, taking a carriage ride around just that very park. It said _with Kurt Hummel _in the same on-screen writing as it showed Susan trying to smell Kurt-y's hand, saying 'I think I'm just smellin' the horse…'

With Rachel again: "Now I've got a three-part question for you," she said. "First, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes I do," she said with a smile to the camera.

"Okay, now what does your mouth taste like?"

"Um…I've been told it tastes like pretzels…"

"And what does your boyfriend's mouth taste like?"

She thought for a minute and said: "_M&M_s!"

"So…" Susan Blackwell was laughing now. "Together, your combined mouths taste like pretzel _M&M_s?"

"Yup!" They both laughed and it switched back to Kurt in the carriage again.

"Do you know what it's time to play, Kurt Hummel?" She asked.

"What is it time to play, Susan Blackwell?"

"Susan's fantasy jukebox!"

"Oh God…" She swiped her hand across Kurt's face and then made a fist. What was this lady _doing_?

"Okay, now I've got your nose and you have to sing to get it back!"

"What do I have to sing?" It was Rachel who asked it, jumping back.

"Um…okay, Susan's song of choice is…any song that was cut when _Next To Normal _came to Broadway that you miss like hell." And to Kurt: "…anything that shows off your best Kate Shindle impression!"

Rachel sang: _When you walk into the room, and they just stop the conversation – _

_When there's no room for your Clearasil with all the medication – _

_When in your house there's much more nudity, profanity, and crudity _

_Then any crap you've ever seen on cable – _

_You're growing up unstable! …_

And Kurt's was:

_…I'm the Mad Hatter,_

_ Offer me a little bit more – _

_ The Mad Hatter _

_ Given' you what you're lookin' for – _

_ I am the best worst-case for the choice you'll face –_

_ I'm the fastest 'crat in the race_

_ Look out for the Queen –_

_ Or face the guillotine! …_

"Okay, no lie, that was a _really _good Kate Shindle!" Susan Blackwell laughed to Kurt. "You live with her, right? How's that goin'?"

"Katie's great," Kurt half-answered, half-laughed.

"Did everyone hear that?" She asked the camera, laughing now too. "Kurt Hummel says Kate Shindle is 'great'!"

I met Kate Shindle for the first time last night, actually:

"_Katie_!" Kurt yelled. "Get the hell out of this apartment right now if you're in here!" Out walked a taller, strikingly beautiful woman who had to be in her mid-to-late-twenties. She was wearing dangerously tall red heels and a satin, low-cut red dress to go with it. She walked out to us while shoving big, gold hoop-earrings into her ears.

"I'm late as it is!" She cried. "Say a little prayer for me, Kurtsie-poo, I could meet my future husband tonight…" then her sea-foam green eyes rested on me, and she said: "Oh, and who is this?"

"I'm Blaine," I said. "Blaine Anderson. I'm – "

"– Little Kurt-y's boyfriend from Ohio!" Kate cheered. "_Awwww_! And hey, Rachel was right! You _do _look like Harry Potter! Great to meet you, finally, I'm Kate Shindle."

"Blaine, please ignore Goddess's infatuation with your Daniel Radcliff-like looks…" Kurt almost whispered, then turned to Kate and said: "And _you_! Get out of here, I haven't seen my boyfriend in two months, and – "

" – _Oh_, I get it!" She exclaimed. "I'm going, I'm going!" She model-walked to the door, and just when I thought she'd turn the knob and leave, Kate yelled to us over her shoulder: "be responsible, okay? And use protection!" Then, Kurt slammed the door shut, and Kate Shindle was gone.

What happened next was the best moment of my life…

But back to the interview.

"Okay," Susan Blackwell said to Rachel. "So, if you were turned into a zombie, who's Broadway brain would eat?"

"Alice Ripley's!" Rachel did not hesitate. "And Aaron Tveit's, Adam Chanler-Berat's, Meghann Fahy's, Kyle Dean Massey's…"

"Anyone _not _from your show?"

"Krysta Rodriquez from _The Addams Family_, Josephina Scaglione from the _West Side Story _revival, Annaleigh Ashford from the _RENT _revival, Molly Ranson from the _Carrie _revival, Laura Osnes from _Bonnie and Clyde_…"

And I could tell Finn was remembering last night, too:

They saw all the classic New York sights – Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, all that jazz. She took him to the Theatre District and they just walked around, positively soaking in all the glory Broadway has to offer, and they went to _Sardi's _after she pulled a few strings to get them a table – after all, it _is _the birthplace of the _Tony Awards_! And they spent the night taking – she told him all about being so, so happy to be back in New York, and to be on Broadway, preforming eight shows a week. She missed him, though, she said – and he couldn't agree more. Finally the two went back to her apartment – her roommates had dispersed when Meghann told them Rachel's boyfriend was visiting.

After that, it was a joy like neither of them had ever experienced.

"Are you sure, Rach? Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.

"Of course I'm sure," she said. Then, another kiss, and: "But…do you have a – ?"

" – Yeah. I mean, if you're sure."

"I'm sure," she repeated. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

And, for all four of us that night, there was bliss.

**Lyrics to Rachel's part of a song: _Growing Up Unstable _from N2N when it was Off-Broadway. Lyrics to Kurt's part of a song: _The Mad Hatter _from _Wonderland_. So...review? :)**


	4. Happy Monday

**If I had a magically genie, one of my three wishes would be for more reviews. :) Happy Thanksgiving, all my Americans out there! Please help grant my wish and remember to review! :) And yes, my celebrity crush appears for the first real time in this chapter! :) Read on to see who he and his co-star are! Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_There's just something so magical about the theater_." – Meghann Fahy

_Chapter Three_

_Kurt's POV_

That night after the interview with Susan Blackwell, Miss Kate Shindle caught me skipping around the apartment as I fumbled through take-out menus to see what we could order tonight. It was Monday, and the theater was dark, so Katie and I have a little tradition going – we order take-out and watch movies. I shouldn't have let my guard down by skipping so schoolgirl-ish-ly, though – now I had to face the giggly, giddy wrath of the former Miss America who's platform was practicing safe sex.

"Well, well, well," she purred. "_Someone's _positively _lovesick_! Sorry I never really got to meet your boyfriend last night…"

"It's fine, Goddess," I said with a flourish of a wave. "Really, Blaine liked you. I mean…you're _you_. Who _couldn't _love you?"

"Don't be mad…" she started, leaning over the counter to see the many take-out menus I was digging through. "But I have to ask…did you two – ?"

" – _Yes_, Miss America, we used protection!"

"Oh…okay, great. I was just gonna ask if you _did it_, but…awesome." There was a pause, and then as she realized what last night meant for the both of us, she gasped. "Wait, wait, wait!" Kate sputtered. "Did you loose something very important last night, Kurt-y?" I left her in suspense for a moment, and then nodded. Another gasp, and at that she was hugging me and started spinning me around.

"You're gonna smother me with her boobs!" I finally yelled out to make her release, a reference to the story Kate once told me about how a random guy on the streets of New York chased her down and asked her to work at _Hooters_. When she asked him why he wanted her to, his answer was simple: those two valuable assets she's got on her chest. Yeah, Goddess didn't take job…_shocker_, huh?

"Hey, these babies could'a got me a job!" She laughed, and picked out a green menu for Chinese food. "Want sushi tonight?"

"I was thinkin' pizza…"

"Ooh, that's even better! Pizza it is!" She picked up the phone to dial the number to order pizza, and added: "But seriously…you did use protection…right?"

"Yes, Goddess, we _did_. I know you'd expect nothing less," I laughed. "What was your Miss American platform, again? 'Safe sex is great sex' or something like that?"

"Yeah," she giggled. "Something like that…"

"One request for you, though," I added, deciding between pineapple and anchovies on my pizza.

"Anything my you, Morris the March Hare!"

"Well, Mad Hatter, next time Blaine's in town, you'd _better _show him your model walk!"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **

_Rachel's POV_

"Happy Monday!" It was Krysta, walking in while swinging her keys around her finger. "Do you guys realize how cold it is already? I hate it!"

"You are talking to someone who lived in Argentina her whole life…" said Josefina. "So…_que no se quejan_!"

"Translation…?" That was Annaleigh, who was flopped over sideways on the couch.

"No…complain…?"

"I think you mean complain_ing_, Josie," Meg corrected with a little smile. "But that's good!" Molly, who had been absorbed in her computer until now, said:

"You guys, I have a problem."

"At least you've realized it!" Laura laughed. "I'm pretty sure that's step number one – "

" – Not _that _kind 'a problem, Bonnie Parker!" Molly interrupted. "I had a dermatologist appointment today…and the doctor told me that all the fake blood from _Carrie _is literally killing my skin!"

"So what's the problem?" I asked. "Other then having to use _Proactive _or something…"

"Actually, I have to order this super-fancy skin care stuff online," she said. "But it's over a thousand dollars a bottle!"

"Well Moll, you've got two options – " Annaleigh started. "One – let Carrie White kill one more victim – your flawless skin. Or, two – put out the money. Do you want healthy skin or not?"

"I guess your right…" she sighed. "Ooh, and guess what else happened today?"

"What?" Meg asked.

"I found out when they're gonna announce the _Tony _nominations…next week!"

"Well," said Laura. "We already _know _that Josie here's winning Best Performance By A Leading Actress In A Musical, for Maria's sake! And we've got Rach-y as our Best Performance By A Featured Actress In A Musical, thanks to Natalie!"

"Don't jinx it!" I yelled. "We don't even know who's nominated yet!"

"Yeah," Josie added. "Don't speak too soon!"

"How can you speak too soon when it's a sure thing?" Krysta added, shooting us a smile.

"Yeah," Meg added. "Seriously Rach, it's freakin' _hard _trying to stand in for _you_! I mean, how do you expect me to standby for a performance like _that_?" There were cheerful smiles and laughs at that. "So…anything else interesting happen we could talk about, or should one of us brave the cold and go get take-out from _Above_?" _Above _was the most incredible Chinese food place in the whole Theatre District, according to my roommates and myself.

"Okay, guys, I have a bit of an announcement," I braced myself and let it out. "You guys should know…I lost my virginity last night."

"For reals?" Meghann asked as everyone started jumping up and reacting, mostly with hugs and giggles. "Oh my God, my little baby Natalie's been de-flower-fyed…" she gasped as a new idea popped into her head. "Let's call Adam and Aaron!"

"_No_!" I yelled. "They'll kill Finn! And they'll embarrass me to no end!"

"Fine, fine!" Meg held up her palms. "I won't! I promise!"

"Good," I said. "I'm starving. Anyone else want anything from _Above_?" Sure enough, they gave me their orders, and I was off into hustling lights of New York City.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Above _always bustled on Mondays, since none of us Broadway-ers had to work. On my way in I saw Molly's friend from the play _Jerusalem_, John Gallagher Jr., The Clyde to Laura's Bonnie, Jeremy Jordan, _The Book Of Mormon_'s Andrew Rannells. The line I had to wait in was long, but it's always like that at _Above_, so it was no shocker or anything. I was about halfway through the wait when the guy behind tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me?" He asked. "But…aren't you Rachel Berry?"

He was cute, no lie, with bristly, coffee-colored hair and smoldering eyes to match. The guy looked a little older then me, but no by much, and looked appearance wise like he bought all of this clothing at a vintage shop – a thrifty, corduroy jacket with grey button-down, black suspenders – but not in any way the nerdy kind – and dark jeans, with swayed-looking shoes to top it all off. He looked like one of those classic-rocker old souls – the types that write all their music and just jam out on stage, but in life only connect to certain people. On his face, though, was that adorable lop-sided grin that Finn has, too.

"Yeah," I said. "Have you seen _Next To Normal_?"

"Only, like, five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred times!"

"That's awesome," I smiled. "And nice _RENT _pun, by the way. You a Broadway fan?"

"Actually, I've been working on a…special project for a while now. It's supposed to start Broadway work-shopping pretty soon."

"Really?" I asked. "That's great! So your Off-Broadway time's gone well?"

"Oh, we didn't start on Off-Broadway…" he shuffled his feet. "You see, it's kind of…top secret. My director doesn't want much getting out yet…" he stopped, considered something in his mind, and then: "I'm Reeve, by the way. Reeve Carney."

"Reeve Carney…" I smiled. "I'll remember you, Reeve Carney." By this time I had made it to the front of the line.

"Take-out order?" The hostess asked.

"Actually, Rachel," Reeve said to me. "If you've got time, I'd love to sit down with you. You have…no idea how much you could help me here."

"Table for two?" I asked the hostess, deciding suddenly the girls could wait, and she grabbed two menus and brought us to a booth.

"So…" I said once we sat down. "Reeve Carney. What's this mysterious Broadway project you've got under your sleeve?"

"Honestly, I'm really glad I get to tell you," he said.

"Wait, you _get _to tell me?"

"Well yeah!" Reeve said. "Julie _just _gave me permission to talk to you about it!"

"Wait, what? And…Julie who?"

"Julie Taymore," he said, almost as a whisper. "You know, director of _The Lion King_…?"

"Yeah, I know Julie Taymore!" I said as our drinks came. "But…why would _she _give you _permission _to talk to…_me_?"

"Rachel," he said slowly. "You have to promise me that you won't tell _anyone _about this. It's the next Taymore project – so like I said, top secret. You can't tell a soul. Not _anyone_. You promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay…" he leaned in across the booth after looking from side-to-side to make sure no one was in ear-shot. "I can't tell you all the details right now," Reeve said. "But Rachel, this is gonna be _huge_. Julie said it would take Broadway by storm – she said it'll change Broadway history! And I've been in pretty deep for a while now…but Rachel, we need _you_."

"_Me_?" I asked, taken aback. "Why would you need _me_? And…what for?"

"We need you as our female lead," Reeve whispered to me the exact words I've been aching to hear my entire life. "Not yet, of course – you've got _Next To Normal _to worry about and the show isn't anywhere _near _that point yet, but…look, what I'm trying to say is – "

" – _Reeve_?"

The voice that demanded his name belonged to a petite woman who looked exactly what I pictured Tina Cohen-Chang looking like in her mid-twenties. She had theatrical make-up around her eyes and especially tall, red boots on that accentuated the dramatic, but not over-the-top look she had to her. The woman walked over to us, looked at me, mouthed my name to herself, and then looked at Reeve with huge eyes.

"It's okay, T.V.," he said. "Julie said – "

" – How do you know we can trust her?" The girl shot back. "She's a teenager, for one. She could walk away right now and go tell the _world_ for all we know! How do we even – "

" – I…I _wouldn't_ do that!" I jumped in. "Really, I wouldn't, you have my word as a Broadway actress and as a person." Then I looked back at Reeve. "But…you were just about to say…"

"Rachel," he smiled. "This is T.V. Carpio, but one day, hopefully, you'll know her as Arachne."

"_Arachne_…?" I looked from Reeve to T.V. "You mean like from Greek mythology?"

"Yeah," she said. "_Exactly _like from Greek mythology. Do you know the story of Arachne, Rachel?"

"Um…" I thought for a moment, and answered: "Isn't she…the girl who gets turned into a spider?"

"That's right," she said, Reeve grinned that lop-sided grin right next to her. "She's a girl who gets turned into a spider. Spider-girl."

"But what does that have to do with – ?"

" – Rachel Berry," Reeve cut me off, and motioned to T.V. "Meet Arachne, aka Spider-girl." Then he motioned to himself and asked: "Do I remind you of anyone?"

_Finn Hudson_.

"Not really…"

"Really? You don't see it? Julie says even a blind person could see it, but maybe that's just her…" he trailed off. "Peter Parker, Rachel. I'm supposed to remind you off Peter Parker."

"You mean…_Spider-man_?"

"Exactly."

"So…" It all connected, finally. "Spider-girl, Spider-man…" I shook my head. "And me…"

"I told you she'd get it!" Reeve cheered to T.V. "I told you! I told you she'd be the one! I told you she's _her_!"

"_Her_, though?" I asked. "Who…who's _her_?"

"We're not asking you to think about this as a change of show just yet," T.V. warned. "We're not there yet at all. But we need you to be her, okay? We're not asking you to commit to our show right here and now, but…but just looking at you now, I can see – "

" – I _told you_!" Reeve cheered again. "I saw it that day I saw her Off-Broadway, I saw it in that competition in Ohio, and I see it now, just looking at her! She's _her_, T.V., she's just _her_! – "

" – Stop it, Reeve, you're scaring the poor girl!" The tiny Asian girl let out. "Sweetheart, don't think too far into this yet, like I said. You're still Natalie Goodman, we know, but…listen, could you show up to this address in a few days?" She wrote down the address to the Foxwoods Theater on one of the napkins and slid it to me. "Just think of it like…like a character workshop, okay? Please, this could mean so much to us…"

"Wait," I said. "I mean, sure, I'll come by…but what…what are you talking about? What does all this mean?"

"I'm sure Reeve told you how secret this has to be," T.V. said. "Please, if we tell you specifics, you _can't _tell _anyone_!"

"I _won't_!" I promised. "_Really_ I _won't_!"

"Okay…" she looked at Reeve again. "Why don't you tell her?"

"Rachel, this show of ours is supposed to be Julie Taymore's next Broadway miracle…it's supposed to be bigger and better then any show ever before…" Reeve whispered. "And we need you. We need you to be our female lead. Our Mary Jane Watson."

There was silence for a moment as I put the pieces together.

"So…the show's about…?"

"That's right," Reeve smiled that same half-grin of Finn's, and I new there was something special to be found her. "It's just what you'd think."

"And…the name…?"

"_Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark_."

And it was a happy Monday indeed.

**Review?**


	5. Jackpot

**You could say I've become quite obsessed with writing this story! :D So yup, here's another update! :) Remember to review; lyrics are at the bottom. Thanks and enjoy.**

"_Face it, Tiger…you just hit the jackpot!_" – Mary Jane Watson

_Chapter Four_

_Rachel's POV_

It was the first time since that Off-Broadway day when Shelby came by that I locked myself in my dressing room. It's not like I was _hiding _anything from my cast-mates…but I was sworn to secrecy! It's not like I was _purposely_…you know what? Never mind. My cellphone felt much too heavy in my hands as I dialed the number.

Back in Lima, Artie Abrams wheeled himself into the choir room. He had arrived early today – his period D class, which had just gotten out, was on the upper level, and the choir room here was on the bottom level, so he was always so afraid of being late that he ended up coming early. So there he was, the first one to arrive, when suddenly his phone started vibrating in his pocket. Technically, he wasn't _supposed _to have his phone in school but…maybe if he made it quick, where was the harm? The caller ID said _Rachel Berry_, and Artie pressed '_send_', said:

"Hello? Rachel?"

"Hi, Artie," I said on the other line. "Thanks for answering, I know you're in school and everything…"

"No problem," he said. "So how's New York?"

"Amazing!" I smiled. "It's absolutely _amazing_! You guys need to come visit soon! But Artie, I know you're in school so I'll make this quick…you know about comics, right?"

"Totally," Quinn and Puck walked in together, the next to arrive, so Artie felt the need to hurry it up. "What do you need to know?"

"What do you know about Mary Jane Watson?" I asked.

"Oh, MJ's an easy one," Artie said. "She's one of the most well-known female deuteragonists that _Marvel _has! But…why would you want to know about her?"

"It's um…" I bit my lip. "Call it…character research."

"Okay…look Rachel, I can't talk now…" more glee clubbers started to arrive. "But I'll call you later. Until then, she's got a _Wikipedia _page if you need quick references. Talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "Bye, Artie. And thanks." As I hung up the phone, there was a banging on my door.

"Rachel? Rach, are you in there?" The opening of the door revealed Kyle Dean Massey hanging in the doorway. "Hey," he said. "Aaron's not coming in tonight, so I'm on – just thought I'd tell my sister that I'm alive."

"That's cute," I laughed. "But why's Aaron not comin' in?"

"More _Catch Me If You Can _stuff," KD answered. "Honestly, Rach, I think…I think – "

" – You think he'll be changing shows soon, huh? You think _CMIYC _will make theater, and Aaron will take the part of Frank, and he'll be male lead alongside Norbert Leo Butz, and _Next To Normal_ will just be that show he used to work on…"

"Don't think of it that way, Rach-y," he put his hand on my shoulder. "Sweetie, we've all got to move on at some point."

"Yeah," I almost whispered. "I guess you're right. At some point."

We hugged, and sooner or later Kyle Dean left to do a vlog, and again I was alone. Alone with my cellphone, and it didn't take long for me to press one of the speed dials.

"Shelby? I need some advice…"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Finn's POV_

"Hey guys," said Mr. Schue walking in. "So, the assignment this week was to come up with a popular, radio-played song that could reflect real feelings. Not just some of the bubble-gum-pop songs they play all the time, and songs about sex, and…you get it. Anybody ready to preform?"

"Mr. Schue," I said, getting up with Blaine, who was dragging a microphone and stand to the center of the choir room. "Blaine and I put something together…you guys 'll understand when we're done."

"Great," he said. "The floor's yours, you guys," and as the Spanish teacher sat down we simultaneously walked up to were he had been. With our microphones checked and ready, Blaine nodded at Brad and the band, and we started the song:

"_What time is it where you are?_

_I miss you more than anything_

_Back at home you feel so far_

_Waitin' for the phone to ring_

_It's been lonely livin' upside down_

_I don't even wanna be in this town_

_Tryin' to figure out the time zones makin' me crazy_

_You say good morning_

_When it's midnight_

_Going out of my head_

_Alone in this bed_

_I wake up to your sunset_

_And it's driving me mad_

_I miss you so bad_

_And my heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_Heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_Heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_What time is it where you are?_

_Five more days and I'll be home_

_I keep your picture in my car_

_I hate the thought of you alone_

_I've been keepin' busy all the time_

_Just to try to keep you off my mind_

_Tryin' to figure out the time zones makin' me crazy_

_You say good morning_

_When it's midnight_

_Going out of my head_

_Alone in this bed_

_I wake up to your sunset_

_And it's drivin' me mad_

_I miss you so bad_

_And my heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_Heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_Heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_Is so jet lagged_

_I miss you so bad_

_I miss you so bad_

_I miss you so bad_

_I miss you so bad_

_I miss you so bad!_

_I wanna share your horizon_

_And see the same sun rising_

_Turn the hour hand back to when you were holding me._

_You say good morning_

_When it's midnight_

_Going out of my head_

_Alone in this bed_

_I wake up to your sunset_

_And it's drivin' me mad_

_I miss when you say good morning_

_But it's midnight_

_Going out of my head_

_Alone in this bed_

_I wake up to your sunset_

_And it's drivin' me mad_

_I miss you so bad_

_And my heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_Heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_Heart, heart, heart is so jetlagged_

_Is so jetlagged_

_Is so jetlagged!_"

And everyone cheered as we sat back down.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

The things I have learned from sitting in on a _Carrie _rehearsal for Molly with the rest of my roommates, Kurt, Kate, and Krysta's _Addams Family _co-star Wesley Taylor the next day:

One – In _Carrie: The Musical_, there is _a lot_ of fake blood, most of which is eventually covering Molly Ranson.

Two – Never bully someone, because they might just have telekinetic powers and a crazy vendetta.

Three – Molly Ranson has crazy eyes. Wes Taylor might bet you that his can get crazier, but _no_, he'll just end up making an even bigger idiot out of himself.

Four – Marin Mazzie can and _will _out-belt you. Yes, Kate Shindle, we know you can hit crazily high high-notes, but _still_.

That is all.

In another second my phone started ringing, and I had to step out of the Off-Broadway theater to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Rachel? Hi, it's Reeve. Are you busy?"

"I…um…" I looked back to the cracked open door of the theater. "No. What's up?"

"Can you stop by my apartment? I have something for you." And then he gave me his address, and I said:

"Sure, I'm not far from there, actually. I'll hail a cap and get right over. See you then."

We said goodbye and hung up, and as I hailed a taxi and drove off in it to Reeve's address, all I could think about was how Finn would feel. He didn't love the fact that I was 'alone' in New York anyway…and now I was working with another guy who _wasn't _Adam or Aaron? In all honesty, I knew what the true was. Finn would never expand comfortably out of his comfort zone that is Lima, Ohio – and he would want the same for me. His idea of a perfect life would be us getting married young, buying our own house in Lima, and me staying home to raise the kids while he worked at Burt's tire shop…

But that'd never be _my _idea of a perfect life.

In my perfect world, Finn would move up here, and get a job doing whatever he wants to do – in this City the opportunities are _endless _for him! How does he not see that? – And I would continue to be in shows, maybe win a Tony or two, and eventually live with the happiness that fills the souls of the likes of Alice Ripley, Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters, Sutton Foster, Laura Bell Bundy, Lea Michele…etc., etc. The perfect, filling happiness of the fact that they _know _they have made it. They know they've made their dreams come true and they will continue to for the rest of their perfect, golden days.

One day, that'll be _me_.

"Hey, thanks for dropping by, Rachel," Reeve said as I slid out of the taxi and paid the driver. Under his arm he held a fairly-large, sealed brown box.

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Yup. This has…well, just open it as soon as you can." He handed it to me…it was heavy, and had more then one thing inside it for sure.

"It's heavy," I laughed. "Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling a lop-sided grin again. "Of course that's a good thing. Why don't you come inside for a while? We could talk."

"Well…yeah, sure…I've got time."

"Great," his smile got bigger.

Reeve unlocked the door and I saw exactly what I expected – a total guy's apartment. Articles of clothing and random blankets, sheets, and everything in-between were thrown haphazardly all over the place. To the side, there was a drum set, a piano, and multiple guitars, electric and acoustic alike.

"What's all that?" I asked. "You in a band or something?"

"Actually, yeah!" He beamed. "You should check us out. We're called _Carney_. It's me and two brothers – Zane's here, actually. _Zane_!" He yelled to his brother. "There's a very pretty girl here who came in _willingly_! Get out here!" Then Zane Carney appeared, and the first thing I noticed was how much he looks like Russell Brand. I expected him to have an accent, but he didn't:

"Ooh," he declared, walking out, dressed in very Reeve-fashion – 100% vintage, but totally cool. "Is this _the girl_? The Mary Jane Watson to your Peter Parker?" He made kissy-faces; Reeve groaned.

"Rachel Berry, this is Zane Carney. My _annoying _brother. Pretend he's not actually here."

"Oh, don't worry," I said with a smile. "I've been practicing – he's not here! Are you sure his name isn't Gabe?" Reeve laughed his hardy laugh and Zane looked at us like we were crazy. "Oh, c'mon!" I said to him. "It's like you've never seen _Next To Normal_ before!"

"No, sorry," he said.

"_What_?" I gasped. "Okay, that's unacceptable! You _need _to come see us some time!"

"Well I'm sure _Reeve _would _love _that!" He laughed as Reeve suddenly shut up completely. "What were you going on about before?" He asked his brother. "Something like… 'Rachel's so pretty, Rachel's so talented, Rachel…Rachel…_Rachel _– ' "

"_Shut up_, Zane!" Reeve snapped. "C'mon," he said then to me. "Let's go outside." And once outside, he said: "Sorry. I mean…I'm sorry my idiot brother's such an ignormus…"

"_Ignoramus_," I corrected him. "But good try."

"Oh, God…sorry, I – "

" – It's fine," I giggled. "My boyfriend does that, too."

"Wait…boyfriend? You have a…_boyfriend_?"

"Yeah," I said. "He lives in Ohio, where I'm from. You'd like him, I think…" just as I was about to continue, Reeve's phone rang.

"Hello?" He asked into it. "T.V.? What's up?" He waited as T.V. talked on the other end. "Okay…okay, yeah, I'll be right there." He hung up and said: "Sorry, Rachel, but I've gotta go. Make _sure _you open that box as soon as possible…and _please_ remember not to tell _anyone_, okay?"

"I won't, I swear…wait!" I thought of something. "Why does Zane know?"

"Zane's going to be our lead orchestration guitarist," he said all prestigiously. "No worries, he knows it's a secret. I'll see you soon, okay? Remember to drop by the theater later. Thanks for stopping bye."

"Wait…" I said meekly as he turned to go. "You…you said… '_our_'…"

"Yeah," he smiled. "_Our_."

And I had a feeling I had hit the jackpot.

**Lyrics: _Jetlag _by Simple Plan. So...review?**


	6. The Mad Hatter

**So it's officially tech week for the school play…yeah, it's **_**Little Women **_**and I'm Amy, so the senior who plays Jo was like "sweetheart…welcome to hell week." Am I a little scared? Yes. Am I going to let it keep me from being excited as hell? Hell, no! :) So please please **_**please **_**review! I'd really love to get more! Shout out to noro and of course cArLySTAR15 who have reviewed to each chapter! My new thing is going to be review responses! If you leave an awesome review, I'll respond in my author's note! :) Here's a only-Kurt chapter. :) Thanks and enjoy.**

"_Why _yes_, Alice, that's just it, isn't it? A little girl grows up with the sense of wonder and hope – and then quickly becomes a woman and _forgets _all the beautiful, happy, _wonderful _dreams that reside in her head_." – Kate Shindle as The Mad Hatter in _Wonderland _on Broadway

_Chapter Five_

_Kurt's POV_

"Ladies and gentlemen!" I called onstage, bunny-ears on, tea pot in hand. "And _Alice_," my eyes shot into the audience after a brief look at Janet Dacal, our Alice. "Please welcome – the one, the only, Mad Hatter!" And there ya' go – Kate Shindle makes her grand entrance. And when I say grand, I mean _grand _– she literally comes up onto the stage from a rising panel, with smoke and special queue music and all that jazz. Insert '_ooh!_'s and '_ahh!_'s from the house as Goddess turned to face them, a snarky, sardonic look on her face. Her costume is pretty much impossible to describe, but lets just say there's a hat, boots and a cape involved, which all positively _screams _Mad Hatter. And then, Katie started to sing:

"_Why hello there, it's me_

_With how it's gonna be –_

_Settle down, and listen up good!_

_The old Hatter is gone, but the hat must go on – _

_Worn by me – is that understood? _

_So shut up! And toe-the-line, _

_While I re-define _

_How this all will be mine!_

_I have a dream – it's got a full head of steam!_

_What is true, what is not _

_Will both change in a shot – _

_As for me, I couldn't care less!_

'_Cause in two seconds flat, livin' under my hat _

_Is the strategy for success! _

_I will look the other way – unless you wanna play _

_Something more then croquet – _

_Do you catch my drift?_

_A little personal gift!_

_I'm the Mad Hatter –_

_Come and follow me, this is it!_

_The Mad Hatter – _

_All's you gotta do is submit_

_And if you don't, my friend, _

_Well then, in the end _

_There'll be nothin' left to defend!_

_Know what I mean?_

_Unless you wanna meet the Queen! _…"

Some more music as the dancers gathered, and then:

"_Upper-cased, double-spaced,_

_Everyone gets a taste_

_Of the brand new leather-hatband – _"

"Give me the hat!" We all screamed, and she continued:

" – _But to participate, let me reiterate – _

_You must first put me in command!_

_I'm the wonder, understand?_

_Under Wonderland – _

_Put the reigns in my hand_

_And I'll do the rest – as long as you've acquiesced!_

_I'm the Mad Hatter – _

_Come follow me while you can_

_The Mad Hatter –_

_Soon you will all see my plan_

_I'm not just a face,_

_Baby, I've got the grace,_

_So don't let me loose this race –_

_You know it's me –_

_I will help you be free! …_"

After those verses, Kate jumped up on our tea-party table stalking closer and closer to where Janet – Alice, in this case – was seated. She sang:

"… _There is nothing I won't do,_

_There is nothing too taboo – _

_I will lie! I will cheat! I will track you down and then hit_

'_Delete'! _

_Toot-sweet!_

_So sweetie, let me repeat – _

_I'm the Mad Hatter!_

_Offer me a little bit more – _

_The Mad Hatter!_

_Givin' you what you're lookin' for!_

_I am the best worse-case for the choice you'll face – _

_I'm the fastest 'crat in the race!_

_Look out for the Queen,_

_Or face the guillotine!_

_Yeah, it's me or the Queen – _

_And her serene guillontine!_

_I'm the Mad Hatter!_

_Follow me while you still can!_

_The Mad Hatter! _

_More then just a hat with a plan!_

_I am where you belong – _

_The right kind of wrong – _

_And I'll still be goin' real strong!_

_The bottom line_

_Is everything will be fine!_

'_Cause all the planets a-line – it's gonna be so divine – _

_When all of this will be mine!_"

And we stood back-to-back on the table, Kate beaming from all the wonderful applause, and me, her faithful, loving side-kick.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"Katie…Katie…_Kate Shindle_! Wake the hell up, Goddess, it's _reviews time_! Wake up, wake up, _wake up_!" I hit a snoring Kate Shindle over the head with a pillow. She shuttered and fawned open her sea-green eyes.

"Ugh…Kurt…" she moaned. "What…what time is it?"

"About four," I answered.

"In…the…_morning_?"

"Yes, Goddess, now get up out bed or I'll pull you out. Don't you wanna see if _Wonderland's _golden or not? The online papers just got updated!"

"This can't wait 'til – "

" – _No_!" I wailed over her, smacking her with a pillow again. "Now _come on_!"

She moaned in protest but got out of her bed rather quickly after that – though she'd never admit it, Kate Shindle had one true love: performing. Getting good reviews, to her, was as good as a man telling her he loved her. But she wasn't one of those 'performers' who's actual love was the spotlight; no, Katharine Renee Shindle never loved the spotlight at all – 'it makes me feel awkward,' she says, 'being in front of people and all…' 'then why do you perform?' I'd ask her. 'Because when I perform, it's not _me _in front of other people,' she answers. 'It's my character. That's what _performing _is, being someone you're not, someone totally new and spectacular!' I was surprised by this notion, at first – Kate _was _Miss America, after all! – but then she told me that the whole reason she ever even _did _pageants in the first place was for the 'act of it all'. And it kind of hit me then – Kate Shindle wasn't a Miss America. Sure, she was probably the most beautiful girl who ever lived, and she _did _win that crown, but that wasn't _her_, it was who she had to be, who she _appeared _to be. Kate Shindle is actually a really chill girl who loves to sing and dance and act, and would kill herself before giving it up.

"Here we go," I said, grasping her soft hand as we pulled up the review page from _The New York Times._

The review was fairly long, about two pages, and it made one thing clear.

We sucked.

**Aw poor Kurt and Kate! :( Next shall we see some **_**Next To Normal **_**reviews and review reactions? I think we shall… :) Review please! **


	7. This World Will Remember Us

**Sorry it's taken so long, I've been super busy! We get out for Christmas vacation on the 20****th****, and then I'll be updating a lot more, hopefully. Then midterms :( so I try to get as much in as I can. Lyrics are at the bottom; please remember to review! Thanks and enjoy.**

"_The notion that personality is fragile, always on the edge of decomposition, is exquisitely reflected in Miss Damiano's astringent, poignant Natalie_." – The New York Times (on Jennifer Damiano's performance as Natalie in _Next To Normal_)

"[As Natalie,] _Jennifer Damiano locates a new depth of adolescent disdain and need._" – The Washington Post (on Jennifer Damiano's performance as Natalie in _Next To Normal_)

_Rachel's POV_

Okay, Laura looks nothing like herself in a curly, red wig. Here she stood – even though we could hardly tell it's her – next to Jeremy Jordan, aka Clyde Barrow, fake guns in each of their hands. Jeremy started singing:

"_Now who would'a thought that a waitress from Rowena_

_Would'a had the balls t'a bust me outt'a the buoy-forty-five?_" Then Laura:

"_And who would'a thought that a farm boy from Toluca_

_Would out-smart the smartest law-men and get outt'a there alive?_"

Jeremy, again:

"_M'a name is gonna make the hist'ry books – _

_ Too bad I won't be here – _

_ I might'a started out a small-town crook, _

_ But now sooner, though,_

_ I'll be as known _

_ As Chicago's Al Capone!_

_ Thanks t'a you, Bonnie, babe – _

_ I can make plans again!_

_ I got's lots 'a reasons to keep livin'!_

_ It's true that love_

_ Can set you free – _

_ And this world will remember me!_"

My phone vibrated in my pocket just as Laura was singing her next part of the conversational duet. It was a text from Aaron, saying only three words:

_Reviews are in. _

And those three words said as much as three-thousand.

An excited, bouncing cab ride later, and I was at the Booth Theater with the rest of my cast mates. We huddled around the computer as Alice read aloud the review from the _New York Times_.

"…_None of this would count for much, though, if the cast members didn't convey this disconnectedness with the fluidity and intensity that they achieve here. That Mr. Spencer presents Dan as a weaker soul than Mr. James did doesn't mean he's giving a weaker performance. The character's cheerful neutrality, which pervades even Mr. Spencer's clear tenor, summons the evaporating spirit of a man who is slowly erasing himself…_" Alice stopped and motioned to Bobby with an Alice-like brandish, and read on:

"…_As the teenage son who is both angel and demon to his mother, Mr. Tveit is contrastingly (and necessarily) as charismatic and ineffable as a figure in a dream, the kind who seems to have the solution to everything until you wake up…_" Aaron tried and failed to cover up the smile spreading across his face as Alice kept reading:

"…_The notion that personality is fragile, always on the edge of decomposition, is exquisitely reflected in Ms. [Berry]'s astringent, poignant Natalie, a girl who lives in fear both of being invisible to her mother and turning into her. Also thrown into the mix is her sweet stoner boyfriend, Henry. Mr. Chanler-Beret is both notable and likeable. As for the Mom that everyone loves and loathes, Ms. Ripley is giving what promises to be the musical performance of the season. Her achingly exposed-seeming face and sweet, rawness-tinged voice capture every glimmer in Diana's kaleidoscope of feelings. Anger, yearning, sorrow, guilt and the memory of what must have been love seem to coexist in every note she sings…_"

And it only got better from there.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A modest "hello?" came with a small rap on my dressing room door. The high from our first real review had ended; everyone went back to his or her regular proceedings, which was why it was particularly odd that someone was interrupting me now. I had only just gotten into costume, and was trying to warm up and put myself in Natalie's shoes. There are a few unspoken rules here at _Next To Normal_, one of them being as follows: _do not _interrupt your fellow cast-mate when they are in the process of becoming their character. I decided to ignore the knock, but then I heard a more familiar voice call:

"Rach! Open up!"

That was Meghann, and I knew in a second what this was all about. I unlocked the door to see Meg, rolling suitcase behind her. Next to my standby, though, was _her _standby. It was sad to see Meghann go. She wasn't leaving forever – only to get _Samantha Brown _good enough to make theater – but still, we wouldn't see her every day. She wouldn't be right down the hall. She wouldn't be a room away at night. I wouldn't have her as my safety net for a while…and that made me feel scared. Knowing that if, God forbid, I couldn't preform, the audience would still get a damn good Natalie Goodman in my place was something I realized that I'd taken for granted. Meg's Natalie was _not _my Natalie, though – it's funny, too girls who are so much alike playing the same character in such a different way. My Natalie was like a bleeding lioness – a strong, beautiful creature who's been hurt. She's ashamed of it, and tries everything to hide it from everyone, and tries her best to pretend it's not happening. Meghann's Natalie, on the other hand, was like a bleeding gazelle – an equally beautiful creature, who's been hurt, but in such a different way – she expects to be hurt. So much so that she's keen to curl up and accept that she is invisible. She's shy and soft-spoken because of Diana's situation, as my Natalie has taken it the opposite way and become, well, _emotion_.

"Mackenzie?"

The petite, blonde thing next to Meghann nodded.

Meet Mackenzie Mausy – the girl who'll be taking Meg's place while she's gone. I look past her involuntarily. All I can think about is the fact that my Natalie-standby, my roommate, my _sister_…is leaving. Who is _this_? Who is _she_? What will she do to Natalie Goodman? Will her Natalie be fire-y emotion like mine, or diminutive and docile like Meg's, or something totally different? Maybe her Natalie won't be like any of ours…maybe she'll make Natalie Goodman into something totally different, totally new…she'll make Natalie _her _Natalie. I shoot her a soft smile and nod.

"Welcome to the family."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Finn's POV_

We all were having a pretty boring day until we got the best surprise any of us have had since the summer. The bell had just rang to welcome us to E period, so the rest of the club and I rushed to the choir room. About half way down the hall that leads us to the destination, I could swear that every single one of us went straight from walking into a dead sprint. Because half way down that hall, I heard something that made me smile ear-to-ear. The piano was being played softly, in a Brad-like fashion, but it was much more then that. Someone much too familiar was singing.

"_Sometimes when I look at you, I don't know why we wait – _

_Schoolgirl in a little world who learns everything late_

_I've always had all the answers_

_Now I don't have a clue._

_Some nights when the clouds are thick,_

_And the wind starts to blow – _

_I stair out the window, wondering – _

_Where will I go?_

_I turn the light out,_

_Under the covers all I think of is you – _

_Just you._

_Say the word,_

_And I just might listen_

_Say the word,_

_And you might get your way_

_Loving you_

_Should be easier but_

_Say the word – _

_And I might have to stay…_"

"Meghann!"

And at least part of us were reunited.

**Lyrics: **

_**This World Will Remember Us **_**from: **_**Bonnie & Clyde**_

_**Say The Word **_**from: **_**The Unauthorized Autobiography Of Samantha Brown.**_


	8. I Can't Breathe

**Yeah, I know, it's been a while. The Tony Award Nominations you'll see below are from 2009, when N2N was in the running. Please remember to review! :) Thanks and enjoy.**

"_Everything everyone ever told you – is wrong! This 'normal' they sell you, it's no special deal – no can tell you how you should feel, or what's real. No more pretending life's always okay because most happy endings are dumb anyway…_" – Diana and Natalie Goodman

_Chapter Seven_

_Rachel's POV_

"I think she's working on it," Louis said as Dr. Madden. "Dan…do you want me to recommend…someone for you to talk to – "

" – Oh, _no_, I…you know what?" Bobby stammered answer as Dan. "Yes, yes I would." Aaron swung on the middle fire-pole for the last time, singing:

"…_And when the night has finally gone,_

_And when we see the new day dawn – _

_We'll wonder how we wandered for so long –_

_So blind!_

_The wasted world we thought we knew,_

_The light will make it look brand new! _

_So…_"

All of us, now, stood in our little triangle formation: Bobby, me, and Adam making up the bottom, Alice and Louis making up the middle, and Aaron alone at the top. As we sang the harmonies together, I could almost feel myself crying. This was the last time that all six of us would be a family on stage. This was the last time that Aaron's Gabe would be my brother. Never again would he be the Gabe in Natalie's life; never again would he be the 'she's not there' holding her down. It'd be someone else now – someone else by the name of Kyle Dean Massey – and everything would be different. The character dynamic, for one thing – Kyle Dean's Gabe was _so _much different then Aaron's…his Gabe fit with Meghann's Natalie; they were both softer, shyer – nothing at all like _Aaron_'s Gabe and _my _Natalie.

But as I sang more lyrics of _Light _with my cast that night, and got deeper and deeper into the song, my thoughts did too. I was already without my boyfriend, and now I was loosing my brother, too? Aaron's moved on, Meghann's temporarily moved out…everyone's making other plans! Aaron has _Catch Me If You Can_, Meg has _Samantha Brown_, Adam's already booked to play Mark Cohen in the _RENT _revival, Louis will be Ted Hinton in _Bonnie & Clyde_, Bobby has his new directing gig, and Alice…Alice will always be _Alice Ripley_, her own mountain, her own choir, her own achieved dream. Alice Ripley is just one of those people who were put on this earth to inspire the lowly, like me, and too keep us going, no matter how impossible that may be. With Alice Ripley believing in me…I'll always keep going. Now I really do cry; Adam grabbed my hand as the first tears came. But that's just it – I can't keep going. Because that would mean going _away from here_…and I – I just can't. I feel like I can't breathe. I gasp a sharp breath and keep singing, but inside I can't breathe. Suddenly, I've reverted back to how it was a summer ago – I'm Natalie Goodman again.

I can't breathe. I can't leave them. I _can't _how could _everyone else _just be fine with moving on, starting over…_leaving our family_? How? How could _Aaron_ – my _fucking brother_ – do this to us? I'm angry now, all of a sudden. How could he just opt out like that because a main role comes his way? How could any of them? I squeeze Adam's hand in one second, and in the next realize something: I am a hypocrite. I am a two-faced, sneaking, lying, _fucking hypocrite_! Here I am feeling the worst possible emotion, the emotion that Natalie Marie Goodman will _never _feel, at someone who doesn't deserve it. And meanwhile, I'm doing exactly what makes me angry. I _hate _that word! _Angry. _I never want to feel this way again. I never want to feel this way _unnecessarily_ again. What am I doing, lashing out like this for no reason? When, here I am, doing the _exact same thing_? I can't breathe. I can't breathe thinking about how unfair I'm being to my family. How I'm going behind their backs. How I'm seeking new opportunities and not even thinking about how I'm leaving them in the dust. I want to punch Reeve Carney's much-too-handsome face and flip him off.

And then, _bam_. I look out into the crowd and there he is – that much-too-handsome face I want to flip off is sitting in Orchestra Row A, shooting me that half-sided smile that only two people in this world can truly do. And then I have yet another realization: maybe it's not Reeve Carney's fault. Just like Gabe didn't realize how much he was hurting Natalie, maybe he doesn't realize how much he's hurting me. Offering me a lead…no one's ever done that before. It's like he's my golden ticket – he could be the ticket to making everything I've worked so hard for come true. Adam squeezes my hand back, and Natalie's insecurity sets in: what if the beautiful, golden, dream show that Reeve and T.V. told me about…is just that. A dream. It's too good to be true. Say the show flops, like Krysta's first show, _Good Vibrations_. Or closes in three days, like the original _Carrie_. What if nothing ever comes of it, and, therefore, nothing ever comes of _me _either? What if I'm no Alice Ripley? What if I'll never be one of those people who were put on this earth to inspire the lowly and too keep them going, no matter how impossible that may be? What if this career – this _life_ that I'm leading – simply doesn't work out? Then what? What'll I do then – go back to Lima and become Finn's perfect wife and stay home and raise our perfect children and bake perfect cookies and do all that other _perfect crap _that people like that do? I can't breathe. That's not me life. It's just not. It just never will be.

The song ends and the audience applauds. We bow, and just like every night, Alice holds my hand and I hold hers. Aaron gets a standing-o and our director comes on the stage, and makes a little speech about him. The whole time I can't breathe. Whoever said 'change is good' is a lying. I don't want my brother to leave me. I hug him and break down crying.

"Hey," he whispered in my ear. "Rach, c'mon now…it's gonna be okay…"

"No it's not!" I whisper-scream so no one else can hear. "It'll never be the same!" I don't know if I'm talking about Aaron's leaving now, or what'll happen when I leave with Reeve. Either way, I can't breathe. "God…" I close my eyes for a second. "I'm sorry, Aaron, I'm so _sorry_…" And there's silence for a moment, besides my crying, and he says:

"Don't apologize to me. You're my baby sister. You don't have to apologize to me. Not now, not ever."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The next morning, we're finishing up Aaron's goodbye cake backstage with him and the rest of the cast and crew when one of our backstage boys – twelve-ish year olds who help us with day-to-day backstage stuff – comes running.

"Turn on the TV!" Little Joey yells. "Turn on the TV, they're announcing the Tony nominations!" In another second we're all huddled by the TV, watching it like hawks.

"The nominations are…" starts the announcer. "Best Play: _Reasons To Be Pretty_, _God of Carnage, 33 Variations, _and _Dividing the Estate_."

"Don't care!" Timmy, another backstage boy, jeers. "Get to the musical nominations!"

"Best Musical: _Billy Eliot, Shrek: The Musical, Rock Of Ages, _and _Next To Normal_…" The room explodes.

"Best Revival Of A Musical: _Hair, Guys and Dolls, Pal Joey, _and _West Side Story_." Me and Josie are gonna _party _tonight! Ha-ha, just kidding – knowing us, we'll probably just end up jumping around the apartment when nobody's looking. And then it hits me: Kurt! Kate! _Wonderland _didn't get mentioned at all yet!

"Best Performance By A Leading Actor In A Musical: David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish, _Billy Elliot_, Gavin Creel, _Hair_, Brian d'Arcy James, _Shrek: The Musical_, Constantine Maroulis, _Rock of Ages_, and J. Robert Spencer, _Next to Normal_." We hug-attack Bobby.

"Best Performance By A Leading Actress In A Musical: Sutton Foster, _Shrek: The Musical_…" Sutton! I love her – I should probably call her! "…Stockard Channing, _Pal Joey_, Allison Janney, _9 To 5_, Josefina Scaglione, _West Side Story_…" Oh my God! That's _huge_! Josie, the girl who was afraid to get on the plane from Argentina to come to New York, is nominated with big-time actresses…she must be in her glory with the _WSW _cast right now. She's probably getting hug-attacked. "…And Alice Ripley, _Next To Normal_." Honestly, no one's surprised at all. But we hug-attack Alice anyway.

"Best Performance By A Featured Actress In A Musical: Haydn Gwynne, _Billy Eliot_, Carole Shelley, _Billy Eliot_, Karen Olivo, _West Side Story_, Martha Plimpton, _Pal Joey_, and Rachel Berry, _Next To Normal_."

I can't breathe.

**Yay! So now you guys have a job to do: in real-life, Karen Olivo won the 2009 Tony for her performance as Anita, while Jennifer Damiano was nominated for Natalie, like Rachel was. Do you want me to stay true to real life, or do you want Rachel to win? Vote, please! And also…review! :)**


	9. What Does It Feel Like?

**Yup, another update. I know it's way short, but I have to get another in before the Finchel/Klaine Christmas reunion! Remember to review! Thanks and enjoy.**

"_My name is Samantha Brown and this is my autobiography. It begins when everything in front of me is blank. In that one bright second when, I know what I want. But I still haven't turned the key. I have to savor this – I have to remember wanting something so much, that I'll risk regretting. Can you do that? Can you do something as simple as not know where your going? What does it feel like?_" – Meghann Fahy as Samantha Brown in _The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown_; opening monologue

_Chapter Eight _

_Finn's POV_

And so, Meghann Fahy has returned to Lima. The glee club rejoiced in the Christmas miracle we had been given – we got our co-director back! – but Meghann, this time around, didn't have time to 'goof around with us'. That was the summer, her time off. Now, this was about 'business'. 'You have to understand,' she told us when she first got here. 'I'm here for business. This isn't a vacation. I don't have time to goof around with you guys. This is work for me.' Yeah, Puck bet me it would take about a week to snap her out of it. It took, actually, eleven days.

When Rory Flannigan first rolled into Lima, Ohio from Ireland, Meghann was the first person he really noticed.

"Welcome to the team, Rory," she smiled at him, when he first arrived, and the look on his face read on thing: he had seen her before.

"So, Rory," I asked him while showing him the way to English. "How do you know Meghann, have you seen her on Broadway before?"

"No," he said in his Irish voice. "I don't know her, personally, but she looks exactly like someone I knew once." The look on his face could only mean one thing: ex-girlfriend. "Her name was Ciara O'Reilly," he continued. "The most beautiful girl in my town. I swear they've got the exact same face."

"That's tough, man," I said.

"Not really," he added. "I mean, when I first saw Meg's face it was a little weird, but it's kind of helping me get over her."

As it turns out, English was totally boring that day, so I asked Ms. Hunt for a hall pass.

"And why would you need to leave, Mr. Hudson?" Her burning eyes were like x-ray vision.

"Um…Spanish project. I need to ask Mr. Schuster a question, and I finished the assignment…"

"Fine. You may go," she scribbled out a pass. "But don't let it happen again!"

"No, Ms. Hunter, I won't!" I said as I grabbed the pass and Puck kicked me from under his desk. "And thank you!"

No surprise, Schue and Meghann were in the choir room with Brad. But I _was _surprised to see Sam and Rory there, too. Sam had a paper in his hand and was walking around, as if on stage, with Meghann, while Rory just sat there, mesmerized.

"Sam, listen to me!" Sam – not Meg's character, _actual _Sam – read with actor-like zest. "This could be our _life_, Sam! We could – "

" – Adam, what are talking about?" Meghann demanded. "I…can't worry about this right now!" She threw her hands in the air and made a dive for a textbook they were using as a prop. "You _know _I'm already worrying about Harvard and Dartmouth _and _Yale, I don't need _this shit_, too!"

"Is _that _what this is to you?" Sam demanded to Meghann's Sam – 'cause that's not confusing at all – with no answer from Meg. "_Is _it?" He added.

"Adam – I…_Adam_ – "

"Please, Sam," he grabbed her hands. "Just listen to me." Meg looked at Brad and he nodded, starting the music. Sam – as in, the blonde guy, not the character – started singing:

"_Let me catch my breath. _

_This is really hard. _

_If I start to look like I'm sweating, well – _

_That's 'cause I am._

_I'm not good with words – but that's nothing new, _

_Still I have to try to explain what I want to do _

_With you – _

_With you._

_Run away with me. _

_Let me be your ride out of town, _

_Let me be the place that you hide,_

_We can make our lives on the go – _

_Run away with me. _

_Texas in the summer is cool, _

_We'll be on the road like Jack Kerouac – _

_Looking back, Sam, you're ready – _

_Let's go – _

_Anywhere. _

_Get the car packed and throw me the key, _

_Run away with me!_

_Sam, I know it's fast – _

_I'm in love with you! _

_Sam, it's crazy but Sam, I'm crazier _

_For you! _

_I have these plans, Sam, I have these plans – _

_Of a house that we build on a bay _

_When we run away!_

_Let me be your ride out of town, _

_Let me be the place that you hide,_

_We can make our lives on the go – _

_Run away with me – _

_Alabama heat – sign me up!_

_We'll be on the road like some country song – _

_Won't be long – Sam, you're ready. _

_Let's go! _

_Anywhere. _

_Get the car packed and throw me the key – _

_Run away with me!_

_I'm not trying to make you a wife here, _

_I'm not trying to tie you down, _

_I'm just saying there might be a life here – _

_A new one, as soon as we run, _

_Just as soon as we run – _

_Run away – _

_Let me be your ride out of town, _

_Let me be the place that you hide, _

_We can make our lives on the go – _

_Run away with me! _

_Mississippi mud – watch me slide! _

_We'll be on the road like Jack Kerouac, _

_Looking back. Sam, you're ready, _

_Sam – _

_Let me be your ride out of town! _

_Run away with me! _

_California dreams here we come! _

_Romeo is calling for Juliet – _

_Ready, set – _

_Sam, you're ready. _

_Let's go – _

_Anywhere! _

_Say the word and I'm already there! _

_Run away with me._"

"Oh, Sam that was great!" Meg wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you! What'd you think, Rory?"

"Brilliant," he said. "I think it was brilliant!"

Other then that, my day was pretty normal. The final bell rang and I checked my text messages seeing one from Rachel, and one from Kurt. Kurt's said:

_I'm getting on the first flight to Columbus tonight. Tell my dad and your mom that I'm bringing Kate with me, okay? See you soon. Tell Blaine I love him. _

Rachel's said, simply:

_I'll be home for Christmas_ _:)_

I wondered, in that moment, what it would feel like if Rachel and I didn't have to play this constant game of cat-and-mouse and could just have a real relationship, with no complications. If we weren't an hour-and-a-half away by plane, and she could just stay here with me. We could have a happy, little life together. Isn't that what everyone wants? What does it feel like – that picture of happiness that everyone here seems to think is so perfect, including me? What does it feel like?

**Happy Holidays! Leave a review as a Christmas present? :)**


	10. Nothing Short Of Perfect

**Happy Holidays, everyone! :) So I saw a **_**Bonnie & Clyde **_**matinee and I am convinced that both Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan are flawless human beings. Also, one quick thing: I know in the show, Rachel and her family celebrate Hanukkah, but honestly, I really don't know what Hanukkah is all about, so rather then risk portraying the holiday badly or wrong, I'm just going to have them celebrate Christmas. Sorry, and I really don't mean to offend anyone or come off as mean or slacking, but like I said, I don't want to misstep here. Remember to review please, as always. Thanks and enjoy.**

"_Sorry, honey, but nothin' rhymes with Clyde and Bonnie! There's a flow to these things, Clyde – a rhythm! Ya'll can't go 'round messin' with _rhythm_!_" – Laura Osnes as Bonnie Parker in _Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical _(explaining why 'Bonnie' should be before 'Clyde')

_Chapter Nine_

_Rachel's POV_

It was official: the holiday season had hit New York City. And ya' know, it was really, really beautiful: snowflakes and candles and holiday lights and ornaments and so many other holiday decorations all over the place. The Rockefeller Center tree. The giant nutcrackers randomly standing guard over street corners. Santa's on the corner ringing bells; the Rockettes are tapping up the place over at Radio City. It's beautiful and magical and special and there's nothing else like it. And now I had to leave it all behind for the glitz and glam of Lima, Ohio.

Meg, who's been staying with my dads while in Lima, went home to Massachusetts for the holidays. Josie went back to Argentina, making the longest flight out of all of us, to not only celebrate the holidays, but also her Tony nom. Yup, you guessed it – I will _most definitely_ be doing the same. Honestly, I love the City with all my heart, but it was great to be going back. I walked into the 'white house' – Krysta's name for the apartment – to get my suitcase, and there I find Laura lying on the couch belting out a few verses of _You Love Who You Love _from _Bonnie & Clyde_.

"…_oh – most girls would hate _

_To be standing in my shoes – _

_But I can tell ya' – true love's something_

_You don't choose!_

_Oh, you love who you love _

_And you go with what you feel,_

_And you never think down the road_

_While your fairytale seems real – _

_But you love who love – _

_Common sense may say it's wrong_

_But there's a part of him_

_You know is wild_

_Maybe that's the part you've love him for_

_All along_…"

"Um, Laura…?" I interrupted. "What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be on a plane to Minnesota right now?"

"Not anymore," she sighed. "My parents and siblings decided to go visit my grandparents in Florida…and not tell me in time for me to exchange flight tickets. So here I am."

"Oh, God, Laur, I'm sorry. Wanna come to Ohio with me? I mean, it is _Ohio_, but – "

" – Rach," she stopped me. "I'm from _Minnesota_. My parents think Ohio's 'big and dangerous'…on that note, remind me to show 'em New York sometime…"

"So you'll come with me?"

"Well…I mean, I don't want to impose or anything, and – "

" – Really, it's fine, you're not imposing!" I told her. "Meg's gone home already so we've got an extra place for you to sleep. Come on, I want you to come! You can't spend Christmas alone!"

"Well, fine, then…" she smiled like Bonnie Parker. "But on one condition: I get to meet your boyfriend, and brag about the fact that I met him before everyone but Meghann."

"Done!" I smiled, too. "Now let's get you packed!"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **

_Kurt's POV_

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Please lock your seats and tray-tables into upright position – we'll be landing in Columbus, Ohio, very shortly. The temperature is thirty-six degrees ferinheight, and snowing. It looks like a white Christmas! Happy holidays, everyone, and thank you for flying with us."

I tapped Kate on the shoulder and made her look out the window, saying: "Look, Goddess, it's the big city!" as I pointed down to Columbus, Ohio's capital, below. She laughed that perfect laugh of hers and added:

"You think we'll get _mugged_? It is the _big city _after all!"

God, I _love_ New York humor.

We landed on time just as the pilot said we would, and walked into the gate to see my dad, Carole, and Finn waiting. Rachel's flight wouldn't get in for another hour or so, so the plan was to grab a coffee or drink, the five of us, while we waited for her and Laura Osnes to get in. Then, after lunch together, we'd drop the two girls home to Rachel's. Today was December twenty-fourth – Christmas Eve – so we'd have tomorrow as our big celebration day and then the holiday weekend to re-unite with the New Directions, and Finn with Rachel, and myself with Blaine.

In short: this week was destined to be nothing short of perfect.

"Dad!" I yelled, running into him for a hug. "Carole!" and the same happened. "Finn!" and we bro-hugged. Weird.

"It's so great to have you back, son," my dad said, a huge smile on his face. I know how much he's missed me. "And this must be Kate!" He added, looking to Katie. "It's so great to finally meet you!"

"The same to you, Mr. Hummel – "

" – Oh, please," he scoffed in his own, Burt-ly way. "Call me Burt!"

"Well, then," Kate recovered. "It's great to meet you, too, Burt. Thank you so much for having me. I love your son! He's the Morris to my Hatter!" Seeing as my father had no idea what in the world she meant by that _Wonderland _reference, Kate added: "Um, I mean, the Robin to my Batman!" About the same type of introduction happened with Carole, and then Kate turned to Finn:

"You're Kurt's step-brother, and Rachel's boyfriend…Finn, right?"

"Right," he said. "I've seen you in the background sometimes when I _Skype _with Kurt. Are you really Miss America?"

"I was," she laughed. "But that was a past life. Now I'm mad as a hatter."

After introductions were over, Carole and my dad headed to baggage claim for us, while Finn, Kate and I had some time alone in the little airport _Starbucks_.

"So, here's my problem," Finn said. "I got Rachel diamond earrings, and they cost me almost every cent I had, but I don't feel like it's enough. I mean, anyone could've gotten her those, I want her to have something more…personal, too, but I've got no more money left…"

"Easy solution, Finny my boy," Kate said. "It'll be nothing short of perfect."

"What's your solution?" Finn asked.

"Sing to her."

**Yes, it's short, I know, but I'm trying to keep you guys interested! So...review?**


	11. Just Like Bonnie And Clyde

**Hey guys. **_**Bonnie & Clyde **_**closes today. :( I **_**love love love **_**that show – it's right up there with **_**Next To Normal**_** for me, and I'm **_**so sad**_** that it's closing! Hence why Laura Osnes is in this chapter so much. :) So please please **_**please **_**review! I can't ask you enough! Thanks and enjoy.**

****"_How 'bout a dance? What do you say? I've got some moves that I'd love to show ya' - let's find a spot and dance the night away...How 'bout a dance? Let's make a start - music like this can really throw ya'! You'll loose the blues, and you may loose your heart. Tonight is the night I've been waiting for - even the moon looks just right! Tonight is the night they'll make room on the floor, when they see you look like you do - so, how 'bout a dance? Let's make a start - yeah, music like this can really throw ya'! You'll loose the blues, and you may loose your heart. Oh - you'll loose the blues, and you may loose your heart._" - Laura Osnes as Bonnie Parker in _Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical_; "How 'Bout A Dance"

_Chapter Ten_

_Rachel's POV_

"Okay, no lie," said Laura while on the plane with me. "I'm excited to see the infamous Lima."

"Why on earth would you say that?" I asked, my jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"I don't know," she said, the word 'don't' bringing out her Minnesota-y drawl the slightest bit. "It's like your Alabama."

"What?"

"You've seen _Sweet Home Alabama_, haven't you? You're like Reese Witherspoon, except you aren't married to Finn…" there was a beat, then she added: "Well, _yet_. But still. It's the place where everything that made you who you are happened. It's the place where all the people who made you who you are live. Lima to you is like Minnesota to me."

"And like Alabama to Reese Witherspoon?" I asked in-between laughs. "That was very poetic of you, Laura Osnes. You've been reading _way_ too much of Bonnie Parker's poetry – hey, maybe Lima _will _be exciting for you, seeing as all you've been doing lately involves Southern accents, make-out sessions with Jeremy Jordan, and fake guns."

"You know what?" She asked, her accent showing itself again just a tad. "I think using my accent so much as Bonnie is bringing it back…"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"_No_!" Laura gasped. "Do you know how hard it's been to _loose_ my accent?"

"Why would you want to do that?" I asked. "Accents are cool!"

"Well, 'cool' or not," she frowned. "Name one other show off the top of your head that requires a Western accent besides _Bonnie & Clyde_!"

"Um…uh…" I really tried, but came up short. "You got me, Bonnie Parker."

"Will you do me a big favor? Please?" Laura asked, shooting one of her signature smiles me way. She pulled out her back from the seat in front of her and pulled out of that what looked like a little red book binding together what had to be a script.

"Really, Laura, _really_? You brought your script?"

"Well, yeah," she admitted. "But this isn't my script. It's my poem book."

"Your what?"

"My poem book," she repeated. "I keep all of Bonnie's poems in here so I'll memorize them word-for-word for the show. Will you quiz me?"

"Why don't you just memorize them like any other line?" I asked.

"Rach," she said, and shoved the red book at me. "_You _read them and try to memorize them like any other line!"

"Okay…" I opened the book and read the title of the first poem there. "'The Trails End' by Bonnie Parker," and started it:

"_You've read the story of Jesse James_

_Of how he lived and died._

_If you're still in need;_

_Of something to read,_

_Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde_.

_Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang_

_I'm sure you all have read._

_How they rob and steal;_

_And those who squeal,_

_Are usually found dying or dead…_"

I looked up at Laura with eyes that said 'okay, they can't possibly expect you to memorize a three-page poem like this word-for-word'.

"I know," she shook her head. "I know."

"And '_are usually found dying or dead_'? What happened, miss Sandra D?"

"I don't know," she said, then stopped for a second or two, and laughed. "I guess I'm just moving on."

Before _Bonnie & Clyde _even existed, Laura played Sandy in a revival of _Grease _after she won this big reality show for the part – some people still call her the Kelly Clarkson of Broadway. After that came Hope Harcourt in _Anything Goes_, aka – another goody-two-shoes girly part for Laura. But now here she was, totally and completely changing her game. Not only was Bonnie Parker a criminal, but she – according to the Broadway telling of her and Clyde Barrow's story – was sexy and star-struck, edgy, fire-y, and not to mention able to fire a gun. Nothing at all like Sandy or Hope. Nothing at all like Laura.

I've always felt comfortable being in Natalie's world and in her shoes; I've always been able to just slip into _being her_ at a moments notice – maybe that's because, honestly, we can be so similar. But like Kyle Dean said, we all have to move on at some point. We all have to move out of our comfort zones. Bonnie Parker is _not _Hope Harcourt or Sandra Dumbrowski, and, more then anything, is _not _Laura Osnes. So…as actors, aren't we supposed to _be good _at playing a _character_, not playing _ourselves_? Alice Ripley once told me: Broadway is twenty percent singing, dancing, and acting, and eighty percent heart, soul, and belief. Is that it? Do we – not as actors, but as human beings – naturally gravitate towards a character that we _know _we can devote that eighty percent to? Wait…why did I audition for Natalie, anyway? Thinking back, I realize that when I auditioned for _Next To Normal_, it wasn't even _Next To Normal _yet – it was still _Feeling Electric_, and I had no idea who Natalie Goodman was. I don't think she even had a name yet. That's when it hits me all over again: Natalie Goodman isn't just one, straight personality – everyone who plays her makes her different. My Natalie is, well, sporadic and emotion and a hurting, fighting heart, while Meg's is what's left over of a girl who has been shut down. Maybe it's not us actors gravitating towards parts who are like us at all. Maybe it's the parts gravitating towards us actors, calling us to play them out, to make them more then just words on a page. Without me, Natalie Goodman won't exist. She wouldn't have a face. She wouldn't have a body. She wouldn't _be _anything – only words scribbled down on a page, never to actually be seen but only in the imagination of those who are brave enough to read the words she exists in…

"Yeah," I said, just after the captain told us to prepare for landing. "I guess we all are."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"Oz-ness!" Kurt screamed as Laura and I stepped into the gate. Her last name, 'Osnes', is pronounced like sort of like 'Oz-ness', more like 'Oz-nez', but Kurt thought the nickname was more fitting of her, because of all the adjectives he once used to describe Laura's performance as Sandy – 'adorable-ness', 'cute-ness', 'bubbly-ness', that type of thing.

"Hummel-ness!" And they hugged as me and Kate did the same.

"Hey, forget someone?" I laughed at Kurt. He hugged me like he did Laura, but we didn't let go for a long time.

"Thank you," he whispered in my ear. "I can't thank you enough. You gave me the life I've been dreaming of for years. Thank you, thank you, thank you…"

"Hey, don't thank me," I said. "I just but in a good word for you. Thank yourself. You're the one who's talented enough to deserve the life you have now. You deserve it, Kurt. It was only ever a matter of time."

"Rach?" I turned around and Finn was there.

"Oh, my God, _Finn_!" We hugged and just held onto each other. It felt like years without him. "I…I missed you so much…"

"I missed you too, Rachel," he said. "I can't even tell you how much I missed you. And, I mean, you're _Tony nominated_! That's…that's amazing – I knew you could do it!" We finally let go and Finn added: "C'mon, let's get back home, there's some surprises waiting there."

The drive back to Lima was almost impossible to describe. Carole and Burt ended up taking there car out to have their own mini-celebration – all I could think of was 'great, thanks, I'm _so glad _I know that…' – so it was Finn driving with me next to him in the passenger seat, with Laura, Kurt, and Kate crammed together in the back. It was getting quite, so, in Kate's own Kate-ly way, she started scream-singing:

"Ninety-nine bottles of Red Bull on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of Red Bull…"

You can image what became of the car ride by the time we reached Lima. Just before I stepped out of the car once we got to the Hummel-Hudson's, my phone started vibrating. _Call from: Reeve_.

"Everything okay?" Finn asked, shutting the driver's side door.

"Yeah," I said. "It's no big deal, I'll meet you inside."

"Okay…" he said, kissed me on the cheek, and went in the house.

"Hey, Rach," said Reeve as I answered the phone. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I just knew you were on a plane so I wanted to make sure you got in okay."

"Yeah, Reeve, thanks, we just got home." I said. "Thanks. What about you? What're you doing for the holidays?"

"Me and Zane are heading back to the West Village tonight," he said, talking about the particular area of the City as if it were something he had to rise above. "I'm glad you got in okay. I couldn't stop thinking about you – I mean – I mean that you're okay. You know…planes crash and – and stuff…"

"Yeah, they do…sometimes…"

"Oh – and congrats on the Tony nom!" He added happily. "For real, if anyone deserves it, it's you."

"I…I don't – "

" – You _do_!" Reeve said steadily. "Don't think you don't – _no one _deserves it more then you. _Natalie Goodman_."

"Why thank you, Peter Parker." I laughed. "I've gotta go, but I'll see _you _as soon as I get back to the City. Right, Peter?" He was a bit stunned with happiness for a minute, then said:

"Right, Mary Jane. I'll see you at the theater soon, then."

"See you soon, Spider-man. Happy holidays."

"And happy new year!"

And that was that. _I guess I'm just moving on_…

By the time I got into Finn's house, I saw that the shock of Blaine being there, waiting for Kurt with a dozen roses had already worn off. Kate and Blaine were getting to know each other better, while the ex-Warbler had his boyfriend in his arms, seeing as he and the former Miss American had met but never really talked, while Laura was whispering something into Finn's ear like she was saving the day. She tapped him on the back multiple times as if giving him the confidence to do something, until finally Finn walked up to me, took my hands, and placed a jewelry box in them. _Oh, holy Barbra Streisand!_ That most have cost him everything he had – and to think, I got him an IPod. Why didn't I spring for the IPad Two…?

"Oh my God…" I looked at the sparkling earrings in my hands and said: "It's too much."

"It's not," he countered. "You're a Tony nominated Broadway actress, Miss Rachel Berry. Not only that, but you're my girlfriend. You deserve nothing but the best. But just wait – there's more at the New Directions Holiday Party." He shot Laura and Kate look and they nodded to him quickly as if they had something to do with what the 'more' will be. I looked up for a split second and noticed something.

"Hey…is that mistletoe?"

"Is it?" He asked, his perfect half-smile on his face. "I didn't plan that or anything…" We kissed and then I whispered:

"I love you, so, so much."

"No," he said back. "_I _love _you _so, so much."

Just like Bonnie and Clyde.

**So. People. Here's the big questions. Finchel or Reeve/Rachel? Meghann/Rory or Meghann/Sam? Laura/Jeremy or Laura/Puck? Kate/anyone you can think of for her? How will the New Directions react to so many Broadway stars? Stay tuned. Oh, and…**_**review**_**, for Kate Shindle's sake! :)**


	12. Open Your Eyes

**Happy New Year everyone! **_**Bonnie & Clyde **_**is officially closed. :( Haven't been this upset about a show closing since **_**Next To Normal**_**. But guys – Jennifer Damiano got a Twitter! :D Yay! So…reviews? Please? Please please please? Thanks and enjoy.**

"_It starts as nothing, just a thought or a dream. Then one day you're in the driver's seat – the key is in the ignition, and no one gave you permission. It's only you in the car. Before you even know you're driving – you are. And your heart is racing. All at once, something changes inside and you say: 'I'm the girl who drove away.'…_" – "The Girl Who Drove Away" from _The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown_

_Chapter Eleven _

_Rachel's POV_

The next morning, as I woke up in my own bed in my own house, all I could do was lay there in the quite silence of the peaceful Christmas morning. I didn't realize how much I missed Lima. I missed my dads. I missed the safety net that the little town provides. I missed my friends – the New Directions. I missed…the life that goes on here. It's as simple as the first snow fall of the winter season – soundless, but still continues on without fail, without disappointment every year.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive, Rach?" Daddy asked as I grabbed my keys a few hours later, after celebrating with them, opening presents and giving them, too.

"I'm fine," I said. "Really, it's only a little snow. And I'll be back in an hour or so, anyway."

"Okay, as long as you're sure," said Dad, once I hugged them both. "See you in a bit. Love you."

"Love you, too," I smiled. "Be back in a few."

As I drove through the little town I couldn't help but feel like the road was contracting. It was smaller. Everything was, here. It was smaller then it was this summer, when Lima was like the summer vacation spot I never wanted to be in – and then turned into, as Laura said it, my Alabama. By the time I had reached her house, it stopped snowing, with only a small drizzle of the white stuff lightly dotting the road. It was more pretty then dangerous. I walked up the steps of her front porch and knocked on the door. In twenty-five seconds exactly – yes, I counted – she open the door with a:

"Rachel…hi! Oh my – hi…"

"Hi, Shelby."

"Do your dads know you're here?" She asked.

"Well…they know I went out driving. They don't know where I stopped."

"Oh," she said. "Come in." I did, and saw little, now about one-year-only Beth, sprawled out in her playpen.

"Hey Beth-y," I said, and her little blue eyes flicked up at me for a second. "I missed you." I could have sworn she smiled, so I did the same.

"We both missed you," Shelby mumbled as I followed her into the kitchen. She slid a cup of coffee my way and I thanked her for it. "Congratulations on the Tony, by the way."

"It's just a nomination," I said. "There's no way I'll win. I'm up against actresses who are _way _more experienced then me. It's…it's just a nomination."

"No," Shelby said as if the word were a full sentence. "You'll win. If anyone deserves that Tony it's you. You don't realize how powerful your performances are."

"I…I don't?"

"Not in the least," she smiled, too.

"The whole show is powerful," I added. "It's not _me_."

"Oh, honey," Shelby shook her head. "You are so blind. Open your eyes."

Was I? Did everyone else see something I _didn't _as Natalie? Maybe I had just been looking at the little puzzle pieces of her for so long I didn't see the big picture – what she had become. It's like when you bake a cake, and work so hard to get every ingredient right – then you taste it and can't _only taste _it. All you can taste is all the work you put into it. All the separate pieces. But to everyone else who tastes it, it just tastes like a damn good cake. Maybe that's what Natalie is to the naked eye of the random audience member – a damn good cake. They don't see what I see in her – all her background, all her different levels that make her _her _– and the never will. They're the random audience members. Natalie Goodman isn't their life. She's just a character in a musical they just thought maybe would be kind of fun to go see. And…if I can turn that random audience member into someone who can see what I see in Natalie…then maybe I did make a damn good cake. And maybe it's time to eat it, too. Maybe I deserve this. I never thought I did. I always only thought that the world of Natalie that I had created only existed in my head…but then it hits me – I project it on a stage eight nights a week. Maybe now it exists in other heads, too. Shelby was right.

It was time to open my eyes.

"I love you, Mom," I said as I wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you."

"I love you, too," Shelby said after a beat. "And don't thank me. Thank yourself."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Blaine's POV_

"New Directions!" Mr. Schuster called once we all piled into the choir room for the party a few days after Christmas. "Welcome to the annual glee club holiday party!" There were cheers and everyone clapped. Mr. Schue then added: "And I'm sure you'll all be excited to know – Kurt and Rachel are back for the holidays!" We cheered again as they walked in, Laura and Kate in tow.

"And we brought friends!" Kurt cheered. "Don't worry, they promised to sing. This is Kate and Laura."

"Oh, and one more thing," Rachel added, and opened the door at the other end of the choir room. To everyone's happy surprise, in walked Meghann.

"I thought you went back home, Meg?" Mr. Schue asked her, and she responded:

"I did, but I got on an earlier flight. I wouldn't miss the New Directions holiday party for the world!"

Rory let out an especially loud cheer at that, while Rachel and Meghann hugged each other.

"Now before the pizza and cake," Schue added. "Anyone prepare a special performance?"

"Make the Broadway people sing!" Santana jeered. "It's their jobs, isn't it?"

"Well, part of them," Kate countered, and then looked at Laura. "I'm cool with it if you are," she said, and Laura nodded. "Okay," Katie shrugged, and then whispered something in Brad's ear.

"_Something has changed within me – _

_ Something is not the same._

_ I'm through with playing by _

_ The rules of someone else's game_…"

By the end of the song, one thing was clear: Kate Shindle really was a Goddess. Her voice was like the horse from _War Horse _– it could withstand anything; the highest highs and the lowest lows, and still come out golden.

"What about you?" Puck asked Laura, looking right into her eyes. They looked at each other purely for a moment, and then she pivoted on her heels like the dancer she was and whispered into Brad's ear just like Kate just had.

"…_Sandy, you must start a new – _

_ Don't you know what you must do?_

_ Hold your head high – _

_ Take a deep breath and cry:_

_ Goodbye!_

_ To Sandra D!_"

Some voices, like Rachel's, for example were fire-y, and capable of changing on a dime to the emotion of the song or character. Some voices, like Kate's, can shift easily to any key or hold any note, and will still have that beautiful tone to it. But a voice like Laura's is one of the rarest these days – a voice like Laura's is unwaveringly pure. That's the only way you can describe it. Pure. Like the first snowfall of winter, or baking cookies with your grandmother. Puck nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard her sing, her angel voice making his sudden attraction to her more then just because of her looks: no, I know that look…the boy was positively lovesick.

"Thank you, girls," Mr. Schue said, Kate and Laura sitting down next to Kurt and Rachel. "Anybody else want to take a crack at it?"

"Mr. Schue," said Finn, shuffling to the front of the room with Puck, who had a guitar in hand. "I have something to say to Rachel, and I want everyone else to hear it."

"The floor is yours," said the Spanish teacher, and sat down.

"Yeah, Finn!" I cheered. It was cool being buds with him now.

"Before I start," he said. "I have to give credit to Laura and Kate over there for helping me out with this. Most of you won't know this song but…you will once I'm through up here. I decided not to change the lyrics up because…well, like I said, you'll know why once I'm through here." Then, he started singing as Puck struck the first chords:

"_I start thinkin' 'bout my Bonnie – _

_The minute I wake up._

_And it's a feeling that's the best I've ever had._

_She is in my shaving mirror,_

_She is in my coffee cup – _

_I must be in love, otherwise I'm goin' mad!_

_And I would like to write to Bonnie,_

_Tell the girl just how I feel – _

_But I'm better with a car then with a pen._

_Used to be I'm only happy, when I'm set behind a wheel – _

_Now I don't care if I ever drive again!_

'_Cause that girl's got something – _

_Nothin' scares her!_

_She's the only piece of luck that's ever come my way – _

_Can't wait to tell her, how much I missed her – _

_Feelin' sorry for James Kay,_

'_Cause he's never_

_Kissed her…_"

There were various '_aww!_'s from the New Directions, and Finn continued:

"…_I start dreamin' 'bout my Bonnie – _

_The minute I'm asleep._

_They're the kind of dreams that keep you in your bed._

'_Cause I just get to see my Bonnie – _

_And that sure beats counting sheep!_

_Got a feeling there are good times_

_Up ahead!_"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The next day, at the gym, Puck thought he could blow off some steam by pumping iron. Lifting the weights – getting heavier and heavier each time – was something Puck had control over. Why did everything have to happen with Quinn? If she didn't go off the deep end about Beth, maybe they could have mended what they once had. But no, like he told her recently, she needed to be alone right now. She needed to be in a relationship with herself for now. But then…this girl. _Laura_. Even her name sounds like a dream. She just walks in and freakin' enchants the room. He thought, when he woke up this morning, that he had dreamed her. She was just that angel-like. But no, she was undoubtedly very, very real. For a second he thought he could just be seeing her face on another girl until he realized that no, Laura Osnes had taken over his inner sanctum, just like she had taken over everything thing else in such a short time.

"Hey," he said, walking away from the weights and over to the corner she was in. She gripped what looked like a ballerina bar in her dominate hand, and then in another second her right leg was behind her head.

"Oh, hey," she smiled. "Puck, right?"

"Yeah. Are you a Rockette?" He asked excitedly. Rockettes were, in a word, hot.

"No," she laughed, lowering her right leg and doing the same with her left. "Rockettes are…well, I'd hate to judge, but they're…not up to our level."

"But you _are_ a dancer?"

"Well…yeah…"

"That's cool," He told himself to stop being so awkward, but Puck found himself stumbling over everything he said. This had never happened before. "Maybe…you could teach me."

"_You _wanna learn to dance?" Laura asked, giving Puck a glancing once-over.

"You taught Finn that song for the party, right?"

"Yes…"

"Then obviously you're a good teacher," Puck added. "So…teach me?"

"Maybe someday," she responded coolly. "Loose the mohawk. Then we'll talk."

"Ooh, girl!" He shouted. "Don't diss the mohawk! It gives me my strength! You don't like it?" She shook her head 'no' at that. "Oh, Laura," he mimicked her with a headshaking of his own. "Open your eyes!"

And so the game of cat and mouse had begun.

**Do we like Laura/Puck? Do we like that Meghann is back? Review!**

**Lyrics:**

_**Defying Gravity **_**from: **_**Wicked**_

_**Look At Me, I'm Sandra D (Reprise) **_**from: **_**Grease**_

_**Bonnie **_**from: **_**Bonnie & Clyde**_


	13. I Do

**Happy New Year's, again! I go back to school on the 3****rd****, so that sucks for me. :( But still, it'll be nice to see my friends again. Anyway, please review! Thanks and enjoy.**

Bonnie: "_Blanche, if you don't shut up right now, you might just be the first person I kill!_"

Blanche: "_You know the law's gonna kill him _[Clyde] _if they catch him_."

Bonnie: "If _they catch him! _If_!_"

Blanche: "_And you know they're gonna kill you, too_."

Bonnie: "_I sure hope so!_"

Blanche: "_Bonnie, you're not making any sense_…_aren't you the least bit afraid?_"

Bonnie: "_Afraid? I ain't afraid of dyin' – not so much as I'm afraid of livin' without Clyde_."

Blanche (_not a question_): "_You love him enough to die for him_."

Bonnie: "_I do._"

– Laura Osnes (Bonnie Parker) and Melissa Van Der Schyff (Blanche Barrow) in _Bonnie & Clyde_.

_Chapter Twelve_

_Finn's POV_

"Can you believe it's the first day of the New Year?"

We all let out one big, collective cheer. My mom and Burt decided to finish our basement last September, and now here we were – me, Rachel, Kurt, Blaine, Laura, Kate, Rory, Puck, Sam, and Meghann – hanging out with movies on the flat screen, ringing in twenty-twelve for another day. Puck, Sam, Rory, Meg and Laura were huddled on the floor in a forest of blankets while Rachel and I shared a spinny-chair. Kurt and Blaine took over the couch before we could get a chance to cuddle, so we took what we could get. Kate was the only one not sitting down, pacing around the room with her phone to her ear – apparently, someone was calling about the Tony Awards. Laura, Rachel and Kurt had totally tuned out what anyone but Kate was saying by now.

"Uh-huh," she said into her phone. "Uh-huh, uh-huh…yes, okay…great – great, thank you. Yup – you, too. Ba-bye."

"What'd he say?" All three of them asked Kate at once.

"Once we get back to the City our passes will be waiting for us at our respective theaters," said Kate, quoting what the man on the phone said to her. "We all only get one pass each. Well, except for Rachel."

"Why me?" Rachel asked.

"You're nominated," Kate said with an almost-sigh, her eyes unintentionally showing a bit of longing; wanting. "So you get a plus-one."

"Great," she said, and then looked at me. "Wanna be my plus-one?"

"How could I say no to _that _invite?" We laughed, and I kissed her on the cheek. Puck fake puked, took a second to himself, and then whipped around to face Laura, who was sitting off to his side.

"So," he started, making his eyes all smolder-y. "Babe. You gonna teach me to dance or what?" Laura, in one seamless motion, got to her feet, put one hand on her hip, and narrowed her blue eyes.

"Maybe, _Noah_, I can teach you some manners first."

"Ooh, _burn_!" Sam shouted, while Rory started clapping. There was then a moment of total awkward silence until Laura looked in my direction and asked:

"Finn, where's your bathroom?"

"Up the stairs, down the hall, first door on your right," I told her.

"Thanks," she said, and walked up the stairs alone. Blaine threw a Dorito at Puck's head.

"What was that for?" He demanded.

"_Dude_!" Blaine yelled as if it were obvious.

"Puck," Rory started, because Blaine was looking around the room now for help. "Where I come from, a girl should be treated with only the upmost respect. Anything else is just, well…wrong."

"That's very…_beautiful _of you, Rory," Meg commented. "If only all American boys thought that way…"

"Hey Puck," I said, then nodded towards the stairs. "Do both yourself and Laura a favor. Go get her."

"You think?" He asked, looking from Rachel and I, who were nodding, to the stairs.

"If you're really serious," Rachel said. "But if she's just another one of your player hookups, then save yourself the trouble and Laura the heartbreak."

Puck got up and chased after her without another word.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Puck found her in the hall, sending a text message. Her phone said: _message sent to Jeremy_, and in an instant, a wave of an emotion he's never really felt before hit him like a ton of bricks. _Jealously_.

"Who's _Jeremy_?" He blurted out in a huff, and she spun around, not realizing he was there.

"Oh, God, you scared me…and, for your information, Jeremy's my co-star."

"Uh-huh," he wasn't having any of it.

"What's _your _problem all of a sudden?"

"Oh, _nothing_!" He waved his hands around. "Just the fact that you would first flirt with me, then _lie _to me about your little _boyfriend_!"

"_You _were flirting with _me_!" Laura countered. "And I don't _lie_! He is _not _my boyfriend!"

"Then how come when I googled you last night, it came up with the suggestion 'Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan', and there were all picture of you guys _hanging on each other _and freakin' _hooking up_!" She just stood there and blinked. Finally, Laura responded:

"You…googled me?"

"_No_! Well, I…I kinda…yes." He rambled uncharacteristically, and all she could do was stand there and laugh.

"I can't believe you _googled_ me!" She got out in-between laughs. "Really! You googled me! You _googled _me!" She shook her head.

"Well…I – "

"Oh, no, you have reached the point of no return!" Puck just stood there as she continued, too stunned to speak in complete sentences. "I mean…you _googled _me!"

"Don't try to change the subject!" He finally was able to say. "You lied to me – I _saw _those images!"

"That was _on stage_! We were _acting_! We are _actors_!" She tried her hardest not to yell. "It's what we do for a living, if you haven't noticed!"

"But – "

"Do you really think anyone in their right mind would walk around _off stage _in period?" She continued to laugh.

"In…'period'?" Puck asked.

"Oh, it means to dress to a time period when acting," Laura explained. "So, for Jeremy and Claybourne and Melissa and I, that's the 1930s."

"Oh…" he nodded. "That would explain a lot."

"Yup."

"So…truce?" He asked gingerly.

"…Truce, Noah," she agreed. "I mean…you _googled _me!"

"Is that _really _such a bad thing?" Puck asked.

"No, no – it's not bad, just…_hilarious_!"

"So…since we've made a truce and all," he started to shuffle his feet. "You think you can teach me some moves after all?"

"Hmm…" she fake-considered. "I don't know…you might just be a hopeless case. _Yes_, yes, I'll teach you!" His smile went from ear-to-ear when she finally said those words. "But on one condition – I need something from you."

"Anything."

"Can you…by any chance…can you teach me how to fire a gun?"

"Why would you need to know that?" Puck asked.

"Because…I'm officially an outlaw!"

"Um…okay…"

"No, I mean – it's for a show I'm in. I play an outlaw and I can't even fire a gun right. So...teach me?" God, he loved her smile. So, so much.

"Hmm…I don't know…you might just be a hopeless case."

"Fine, then," she responded coolly. "I'll just _google _it!"

"Well, to save you the expense – fine. I'll teach you." His response was just as cool. "But on one condition – I need something from you."

"I'm teaching you to dance, aren't I?"

"No, something _else_." He took a deep breath – this question had never flustered him before – and asked: "can I kiss you?"

"Yes," she didn't hesitate. "Noah Puckerman, you can kiss me."

And it wasn't a big, Bonnie-and-Clyde worthy make-out session, like Puck was used to. It was just a little kiss – but it was so, so much bigger then that.

"Do you want to kiss again?"

"I do."

**Oh yeah. I ship Paura. Can you blame me? :) Review?**


	14. Don't You Forget

**I go back to school tomorrow, :( and then midterms in two weeks. :( But I have today, so that's good. Hope you like this chapter. Please review! Thanks and enjoy.**

"_...I can say I've really loved – if the world should end._" – Mary Jane Watson, _Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark_

_Chapter Thirteen_

_Kurt's POV_

"Kurt, what are you doing with my laptop?"

_Welcome to the Broadway chat room_, read the big, red font on the top of the screen. _You have been invited by Kate Shindle. Kate Shindle, Rachel Berry, and Molly Ranson would like to chat. Would you like to join the conversation? _A little box popped up that had two options: '_Affirmative!' and 'Negative!' _– I swiftly clicked the first button and laughed at the epic-ness of Broadway's people for a minute. Blaine, who was hovering over me, raised an eyebrow:

"You people have your own chat rooms?"

"Yes, Blaine Warbler Anderson. We are just that epic."

_Kate Shindle: _Kurt-y Kurts!

_Kurt Hummel: _Katie Kates!

_Kate Shindle: _Just landed at JFK. Are you home yet?

_Kurt Hummel:_ Traveling back tomorrow. Last day in Lima!

_Rachel Berry likes this._

_Rachel Berry: _Same here :)

_Molly Ranson:_ Kurt! It's been so long!

_Kurt Hummel: _Molly-Molly-Oxenfree! :D 2012 shall be a good year since _Carrie _premiers this year!

_Molly Ranson likes this._

_Molly Ranson: _Love you kiddo!

_Kurt Hummel likes this._

_Kate Shindle likes a link: Do you have any burning questions for Sutton Foster? Show People with Paul Wontorek answers them!_

_Sutton Foster likes this._

_Sutton Foster: _Why must the questions be burning? Can't they just be room temperature?

_Rachel Berry, Molly Ranson, Kurt Hummel and Kate Shindle like this._

_Laura Osnes: _In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking – but now, God knows – _Anything Goes_!

_Sutton Foster likes this._

_Sutton Foster: _Come. Back. To. Me.

_Jeremy Jordan: _Dis-like. She's _mine_!

_Sutton Foster: _Dis-like!

_Rachel Berry likes this._

_Rachel Berry: _Where has my Alice Ripley gone? She was on this morning…

_ALICE RIPLEY: _IS BACK.

_Rachel Berry: _YOUR CHAT IS IN ALL CAPS!

_ALICE RIPLEY: _LA DUH_. _

_Jeremy Jordan: _Alice Ripley is a rebel.

_Rachel Berry, Kurt Hummel, Molly Ranson, and six others like this._

_Aaron Tveit: _I'm alive – in living color.

_Rachel Berry and ALICE RIPLEY like this._

_Rachel Berry: _Brother!

_Aaron Tveit: _Sister!

_Sutton Foster: _Long-lost-cousin-seventeen-times-removed!

_Laura Osnes: _She would.

_Kurt Hummel, Molly Ranson, Rachel Berry, Jeremy Jordan, and ten other people like this._

_ALICE RIPLEY_: …

_Aaron Tveit: _Mother!

_ALICE RIPLEY_: YOU'VE BEEN REMOVED. GO BE WITH YOUR LONG-LOST-COUSIN.

_Rachel Berry likes this._

_Sutton Foster: _Removed party?

_Aaron Tveit: _Removed party! :P

_Kurt Hummel: _Sorry guys – my amazing boyfriend demands my full attention.

_Rachel Berry, Kate Shindle, Laura Osnes, Molly Ranson and like this._

"So," Blaine started. "It's twenty-twelve. One day until you leave and it's the end of my world until you could back home. Any idea what we could do?"

"Hmm…" I smiled. "I think I've got just the idea."

He held my hand a little tighter and kissed me, and in that minute it came to me that I will never love anyone as I today love Blaine Anderson. Period.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"So _this _is a shooting range…" Laura looked around. Puck had taken her to, yes, a shooting range. Guns were bound to each booth, which held in it a target. Everyone firing had to where earplugs, so Laura and Puck came in, and swiftly lied to the person at the door asking if they had brought any with them. See, Laura and Jeremy, her co-star, were told to where earplugs during the shoot-out scenes of _Bonnie & Clyde_ at first, but they both said they would do no such thing – neither Bonnie Parker nor Clyde Barrow wore earplugs, so why should they?

"Right," said Puck. "This is it. Now – according to _Wikipedia_, Bonnie and Clyde used – "

" – Browning Automatic Rifles," she finished quickly.

"…So I did research for nothing?" Puck asked after a beat.

"Noah, I've been trying to get this show to make theater for almost three years now," Laura explained. "I've read pretty much every book on Bonnie Parker that exists."

"Wow," said Puck. "That's gotta be…hard. Ya' know, playing a character that you wouldn't necessarily root for…"

"But that's just it," she countered. "Everyone thinks Bonnie and Clyde are those horrible killers, but they weren't. It was the Great Depression. They were desperate and had no food or money. They hated their lives. Then they fell in love and…well, they decided they'd rather die high on adventure then live dead in dust and boredom."

"I can be kind of like that," he nodded. "Yeah – see, about a year ago, I went to juvie for a while. Stole some money from an ATM. Shoplifted. Dinned and dashed, that kind of thing. But…what you said about them wanted to die high rather then live in boredom…I guess that was what I was thinking, too."

"And now?"

"I grew up since then. Realized I just have to bide my time 'til I can get out of this boring-as-hell town and have a life."

"You're patient," she murmured. "That's good. Bonnie and Clyde weren't patient – and they died because of it."

Silence, until:

"Okay, let's teach you how to shoot a B.A.R.," he said with a wink. "Then – dance lessons."

"Whatever you say, Clyde Barrow," she smiled. "Whatever you say."

They'd been at the shooting range for almost two hours when she took him to a dance studio in downtown Lima.

"I don't think it's open," said Puck, seeing that there were no lights on.

"Okay, you should know, I'm really not the kind of girl to do something like this…" she shook her head. "But a promise is a promise." And Puck just stood there, amazed, as she pulled out a bobby-pin from her hair, fitted it into the lock, and opened the door. He whistled – was there nothing she couldn't do?

"Alright, Noah Puckerman!" She said, finding the light switch and revealing Lima's Studio of Dance. "Get ready for your first dance lesson."

"Just tell me what to do, teach," he laughed.

"First – take off your shirt."

"Wait…what?"

"No, I don't mean – you can't _dance _in that! You can hardly dance in jeans, either, but your just going to have to make do."

"Fine," he simply said, and did what she said. "I was wondering why you were in yoga pants. Aren't _you_ going to take off your shirt? Just _me _taking off _my _shirt is, like, discrimination!"

"Fine," she simple said, and stood there in her sports bar.

"_Holy _– !" He didn't finish the exclamation. "For real? Like – for _real_?"

"What?"

"You have better abs then _me_!" It was true – she had the female version of what Taylor Lautner has.

"I'll give you one guess how I got these."

"Dance?"

"Yes," she answered. "Dance, if you translate that into 'hell'. Oh, and planking."

"Like…the _Facebook _trend?"

"No – the workout! Get down on the floor." They both did. "Now balance your weight on the tips of your elbows and tips of your toes – yeah, good, like that. I do this for at least a minute every day."

"Oh my God…" he mumbled. "You…are…_crazy_!"

"Maybe," she laughed. "But crazy is perfect."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Finn's POV_

Lying there with Rachel in my arms, I finally said what was on my mind.

"I don't want you to go back to New York."

She looked at me for a second, blinked, and said:

"I know you don't."

Silence.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Really. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. You're living your dream, I should support you in that."

"But you're aloud to have your own opinion, too!" She interjected. "And I know you want me here with you. I want to be with you, too. But I can't stay here, Finn. You know that. I'm…It's not where I belong."

"I know it's not," I added. "You don't belong here. And I'm sorry I said that – I don't want to make you feel guilty. Like I said, I should support you…"

"I know it's hard being apart," said Rachel. "But we'll get through this. I promise you we will, because we love each other."

For the next ten minutes or so there was no talking, only my lips on hers.

"I love you," I said. "Don't you forget that in your crazy city of yours."

"Hey," she whispered. "I'll never forget that. Not as long as I live."

**Please review!**


	15. White Star

_**Bonnie & Clyde **_**finished recording their cast recording today! :D Yay yay yay I'll finally get to listen to the music whenever I want! :D Please review, guys. On a serious note, the reviewing thing is starting to bother me. Shout out to noro and cArLySTAR15 who always review, no matter what! :) Thanks, you two! I have to go back to school tomorrow. :( Anyway, hope you like this. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_Picture this: the world is spinning on a tiny pin – nobody knows the danger we're in. On this sunny day, let your imagination run away – see the future through the haze. Picture this: I want to believe you, and I'm gonna try – but I find it hard to see me through your eyes. Picture us! Realize – this is a dizzy high, and I could fall and fall and fall and fall_…" – "Picture This" from _Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark_

_Chapter Fourteen_

_Finn's POV_

"I hate that vacation's over…" Puck grumbled as we once again walked through the halls of McKinley High.

"Dude," I protested. "Let's be real – you hate that Laura's gone."

"Well…_you _hate that Rachel's gone!" He countered.

"Yeah, I know, I said 'let's be real' didn't I?"

"Whoa," Puck breathed. "_Somebody_ isn't happy this morning!"

"I just…_hate _not being with her," I admitted. "What if she needs me? What if – God forbid – something goes wrong? What if – "

" – Finn!" He stopped me. "Rachel might be from Lima, but she's a New Yorker at heart – girl can take care of herself! And I know you miss her like crazy – trust me, I _know _– but you just have to remember that she's living her dream. Only about a month 'til February break and they come back to us! And you know what's in February?"

"Valentine's Day…" I suddenly had so many ideas.

"That's right," he said as we walked into the choir room. "Valentine's Day! First, though, we've got midterms to tackle…but I've got this idea for now."

"What is it?" I asked.

"You know how when people who's loved ones are in the army send care packages? I was going to make Laura one of those."

"That's a really good idea," I said. "We should tell Blaine – he could make one for Kurt, too."

As everyone finally gathered for glee club, and Mr. Schue said:

"Welcome back, guys!" and we all clapped. Meghann stood up there with him and we were all so glad she back, but Rory seemed especially glad everyday to see her face.

"This is gonna be a great year for you guys," Meg said. "And I've got some news to report – _The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown _will be going on tour later in the year!" Everyone clapped again and Meg gave a little curtsy.

"So…you're _leaving_?" Rory asked with worried eyes.

"Not for a while yet," she answered. "My director just said 'within the year', so it's most likely not any time soon." I sworn I heard the Irish exchange student let out a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Schue," said Puck, grabbing his guitar. "I know we didn't have an assignment but…look, can I perform a song? Please?"

"Sure, Puck," said the Spanish teacher. "That's great! Step right up!"

"Okay," he said, once he got up there. "I was _going _to perform _Bonnie _from _Bonnie & Clyde_, because it's literally the song that my girlfriend's love interest sings about her – and yes, for those of you who care, Laura and I are official now. But since _someone _– _Finn_!– already performed that number, I've got another one here. This song is from the recording that Kurt and Rachel and their friend Molly and her friend Matt did for her show _Carrie _a while back. It was never officially recorded but – well, I did my best. I had to change it up a bit because it's normally sung by a girl about a guy, but I got it to work acoustically for me. So…here we go."

"_One night_

_Just for the length of one night._

_It's a sacrifice I feel I oughta make._

_I'm okay; yeah – I'll be fine,_

_And I swear that it's not like my heart's gonna break._

_I'm fine, as long as she's still mine._

_White star,_

_Why aren't you shining?_

_You hang all alone,_

_Like a tear in the sky._

_White star,_

_Could you be pining_

_For some other star_

_You could dance with on high?_

_Heaven, there's heartache in Heaven._

_I guess Heaven knows that my love_

_Is so far away._

_Bright star,_

_My silver lining,_

_I wish you could bring her back to stay._

_Hopes and dreams can vanish with the dawn._

_You blink and they've gone,_

_It's the chance lovers take._

_Baby, baby, we had it all,_

_But angels can fall – _

_And hearts can break._

_Baby, baby, we'll have it all,_

_Our angels won't fall_

_And hearts won't break – no! _

_Heaven, you promised me Heaven._

_How can my love find me here,_

_With the moon so hidden under?_

_Bright star, please keep on shining,_

_And shine 'til I find I'm back with her!_

_Oh,_

_Oh – _

_Back with her!_

_White star – keep on shinning,_

_White star!_"

Everyone clapped for Puck as he sat down, and Blaine and I looked at each other. He had a really good point – most people would just say 'long distance never works' and have given up by now. But now me and Rachel, and not Blaine and Kurt, and, hopefully, not Puck and Laura. We'd always stay to together as long as we believed we could. As long as we kept on having faith in each other, believing in each other, and – most of all – loving each other, we'd get through this. It's just one night in the long string of nights we'd have to endure together in the long run. But we could do it. No broken hearts, no fallen angels. Only bright, shinning, white stars.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

"Mail call!" Krysta yelled, brown boxes and envelopes in her hands. "Annaleigh," she passed the blonde some small, card-shaped envelopes. "Josie!" and she did the same. "Molly – ooh, this is kinda heavy…" she passed her a sealed box and Molly let out a little cheer.

"More fake blood to get poured on Carrie White!"

"_Ew_!" Annaleigh let out, holding her nose.

"More like _awesome_!" Molly corrected. "Matt's gonna be so excited!"

"Okay…" Krysta added. "Uh, awesome, Mol. Laura, Rachel, yours are _really _heavy…" She threw us our respective boxes and we opened them while trying our best not to destroy them in the process.

Mine had a note that said _Rach – just so you can think of me. Love, Finn. _Inside was Nutella, Oreos, an Itunes gift card, Rice Crispy Treats, nail polish, sticky notes in the same of dinosaurs – because I know Finn thinks they're awesome – and some pictures of us to top it off. Laura's was from Puck, with a note like mine, and contained Reese's Puffs, actual Reese's, jel pens, a figurine of a little gunman, and sticky notes in the shape of cowboy hats. My box had a gold star on it, and Laura's a white one.

"This is the best thing I have ever received in the mail. _Ever_," said Laura.

"I know," I added. "I know. God, I love him."

"I know," Laura echoed. "I know."

**Lyrics: **_**White Star **_**from **_**Carrie: The Musical**_

**Review? :)**


	16. Small Town Sandy

**Back at school. So. Much. Work. :( And then midterms the week of the 15****th**** :O! I'm scared already. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Come on guys – would it really be so hard to send a review? Thanks and enjoy.**

"_...Honestly, I've been living a dream come true. And I'm thankful for every minute of it._" - Laura Osnes

_Chapter Fifteen_

_Rachel's POV_

Laura Osnes always had dreams. When she young – twelve, thirteen, and most definitely into her high school years – all she ever wanted was to be on Broadway. Living in Minnesota, getting to the City often was a bit of a stretch, but every time she made it in she felt like the most special, marvelous person in the entire world. There was just something about this particular place that is New York City; some call it mean, some call it nasty, some call it dirty, grimy, and gross – to Laura and I, that could not have been any less true. New York was, well…_New York_! It was beautiful and special and as perfect to us as Disney World is to any child…and it still is.

She remembered one day, in particular, when she just couldn't take it anymore. Living in Egan, Minnesota is great for some people…but not Laura Osnes. She felt so isolated – like her world was so, so limited. And what could she _become_ here? A music teacher? Maybe. That's as good as it would get in Egan. She could spend her summers in Community Theater; maybe direct the musicals at the school she taught music at? Meet a nice enough guy, get married quickly, have a bunch of kids and raise them and then…and then…Laura stopped herself. No. _No_. _No_! It wasn't possible. She would _not _be one of those people who stay in the town they were born in for their entire lives. No – _never_! She'd be a mover and a shaker and…damn it, she'd _be _on Broadway. So she simply walked up to her mother, that one day in particular, and said:

"Mom – when I graduate from high school I am getting out of this town."

Her mother laughed.

And so Laura had to hold her tongue and bide her time, like a lot of our generation with big dreams have to do so often. She sat and she waited, she practiced and she improved. And everyday, she dreamed. She looked at every Playbill, and every picture of Broadway stars she could find, and sang every song that ever came out of Sutton Foster's mouth. Eventually her Playbills filled five binders. Eventually her pictures lined the walls of her room. Eventually she could freakin' sing the _crap _out of _Astonishing_, and _Not The Life For Me_,and even _Gimme Gimme_. And then, one day, Laura came upon something that interested her online:

_Grease: You're The One That I Want!_

It was a casting reality show – like _American Idol_, kind of. But Laura never wanted to be an American Idol kind of singer. No – she wanted it all; the singing, the dancing, the acting, the stage work, the character connection, and – most importantly – she wanted to be the one that girls in the latter years would see pictures of and save the Playbills of and try to master every song that ever came out of her mouth. She wanted to _inspire _people – not just be a blank face that you pass by from day to day. Not that she wanted fame, she didn't care about that – but Broadway…it's not just a place. It's a passion. It's intangible. So she took a car, then a bus, and then a train, and got to the big City. She stood in line for over six hours. And when she finally got in there, she stood in front of the judges, number on her chest, and sang just the song she sang for the glee club at their party. Because, in her head, that audition was just that – a party.

They took her in, thank God, and dubbed her 'Small Town Sandy'. Her assigned color was Yellow. Olivia Newton-John told her she had 'moxy'. Other then that, the competition was a blur. It was all so nerve-racking and she couldn't help thinking of what would happen if she were sent home. Every elimination night, she'd feel this weird sense of impending doom – like she was just going to drop dead or somehow evaporate into nothingness. But she was never in the bottom three. Not once. The judges handpicked her as the favorite. And, in the end, she won. She did it – she _did it_ – all her hard work, all her biding her time, all her holding her tongue…had finally paid off.

Laura remembers that night like it was yesterday – the opening night. Max Crumm, the Danny to her Sandy, held her hand before the curtain and said: 'this is it'. He was right – this _was_ it. That show, too, was a blur. But right after was anything but. The stage door. Oh, God – the _stage door_…

"Make a hole, people!" The NYPD officer they had stationed yelled. There were no barricades up – there wasn't any time to put them up, being opening night and all – so people were literally just swarming all around her and Max. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before…it was _beautiful_…

"Max! Laura!" The mod would call.

"I voted for you!" A voice came through.

"You were fantastic!" Another yowled.

"Look at the camera!" And a flash would come then.

People were literally engulfing them. Max seemed a little scared – Laura, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier. Her dream had come true.

"Laura," said the last girl waiting – she was maybe thirteen, fourteen or so. "Thank you so, so much. I loved you – you are _so _amazing! Thank you, oh my God – can I get a picture with you? I wanna be just like you when I grow up!"

She all but started crying.

"No," she answered. "Thank _you_. _I _love _you_._ I _wanna be just like _you _when _I _grow up."

She remembered the days when Sutton Foster was just a picture in a magazine – now, a while back, she literally worked with her on stage every night. She remembered the days when originating a Broadway role was just a crazy, crazy dream – now she was literally doing just that.

"Wow," said Puck, when we four-way _Skyped _and she told him all this for the first time. "You're an inspiration!"

"No," she said. "I'm just Small Town Sandy."

**God bless Laura Osnes and her perfectness. Now I'm going to bed. Review, please! :)**


	17. Chance To Fly

**Ugh this Monday we have one full week of uninterrupted classes and then midterms :( Wish me luck in biology :P ewww. Please review to this chapter; lyrics are at the bottom. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_Oh yeah, it was all so, so top secret. Reeve even said 'don't tell anybody! No one can know!' But I wasn't really thinking about that, I was like 'another show! I get to do another show!' And, on top of that, it was my first lead which was really, really exciting, too. And the show itself was already known at that point as 'Julie Taymor's next project' to certain people, so we knew it was going to be big and fresh and bold…I really didn't know what would come of it all at that point, but I just couldn't wait for more…I remember, with Reeve [Carney], we first got a few demos and we listened to them and it was just like 'aw, man, this is just going to be incredible'. And the script, too, was so creative and just out-of-control-cool. My gut reaction was 'this show is going to be so, so great. I cannot wait to be a part of it'._" – Jennifer Damiano (talking about when she got her first script and demo recording for _Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark_)

_Chapter Sixteen_

_Rachel's POV_

I really don't know what could have possibly come over me. Call it a sudden altar in personality or an adrenalin rush or…whatever. But that wasn't me walking into the Foxwoods Theatre that day. Nope – that was certainly not Rachel Berry. And it wasn't Natalie Goodman, either.

"Hey there, Tiger," but those words came out of my mouth. And Reeve Carney turned around to them. He smiled bigly when I came in with the brown box he had given me a while back, and he said:

"Hey! You came!"

"Well, I said that I might."

…_I thought we were through, me and you_

_Not tonight…_

Reeve hugged me and held on for about a second too long. Or maybe that was just my imagination.

"I brought your box," I added. "I was a little afraid to open it alone…"

"No problem," he laughed, and brought me down into the house part of the theater itself. We sat where audience members sat as he started to open it.

"Wait," he said, stopping. "You…you really should open this yourself."

"Is it something you can't see?" I asked.

"Oh, no," he almost laughed. "_I've _seen this a million times. It's just…_you _haven't."

He handed me the box, and after a small struggle, I got it open. Inside was three things – a huge stack of paper, a smaller pile of papers next to that, and what looked like a blank CD. I picked up the giant pack of paper, put it in my lap, and saw that the first page was totally blank. 'To avoid just anyone from seeing,' Reeve explained. I opened it to the next page and found the same thing. Finally, on the third page, it read:

_Rachel Berry _

_MJ_

"MJ?" I looked at Reeve. "For Mary Jane?"

"That's right," he nodded. "Sorry we can't write everything out, but – "

" – The secrecy thing," I said. "Right."

Normally, a first-draft script has, first off, a cover that matches the cover of your demo CD and that becomes the mock-up for the cover of, well, _everything_. Then on the next page, it'll have a table of contents, with all of the actors and actresses in your company, with their parts across the page from them. The owner of the script's name and character our usually highlighted. Then there's the song page, with all the songs, another cover page, and a background page, which gives a little background on the show. After even another cover page, the actual script starts. This script had two blank pages, and then one page with my name and part of my character's name. Then there were three more totally blank pages, a page that simply said: '_SMTOTD_' two _more _blank pages, and then the actually script started. The first page read:

_Lights up on Manhattan. It is dawn. Mary Jane Watson hangs suspended from the Brooklyn Bridge. She screams, and The Green Goblin dives down, laughs, and cuts the rope she is suspended by. Mary Jane screams again. She falls._

"'She _falls_'?" I half screamed, half asked at Reeve.

"Wait," he said. "Keep reading."

_She falls. Lights up on the top of the bridge. Spider-man is seen perched there._

_Peter (as Spider-man): Mary Jane!_

_He dives down after her. Blackout._

"But…how…?"

But part of me didn't even care _how_ – this was incredible. This was the material that created _hits_. Why had I had felt so…_bad _about this before? This was my opportunity to grow into my own Alice Ripley; to take the reigns and get up there and bare my soul into the words and lyrics and the character itself. I was already nominated for a Tony…it could only go up from here! What was I so afraid of? Falling? Because I was _flying_.

"C'mere," Reeve said, and grabbed my hand, leading my out of the house. "I have to show you something!"

"Reeve, where are going?" I asked as he led me through a bunch of hallways and down three flights of stairs.

"Rachel Berry," he said, walking down what looked like a dressing-room hallway similar to ours. "Welcome home!"And he reviled a door with a sign on it that looked like this:

_Rachel Berry*_

_Mary Jane Watson_

Right across the hall, there was a door with a sign that read:

_Teresa Victoria Carpio _

_Arachne _

"So _that's _what 'T.V.' stands for!" I shouted.

"Yup," Reeve nodded. "Except nobody calls her Teresa or Victoria or Teresa Victoria – she's just T.V.!"

As we stood there laughing, I again asked myself _why _I thought this was a bad idea. This is great. Not just for me, but for Reeve and T.V. and the rest of the cast, too. We could become a family. And I'd be a lead – a _lead_! I can't feel bad for moving on to new things – everyone has too, at one time or another. I can't feel bad – only excited. It's not like I'd be forgetting about Natalie Goodman, either – she'd always be apart of me…but maybe it's time to let some other parts of me go center stage.

An hour later, I was sitting in my dressing room alone with the script open on my lap, the demo CD in my Mac, playing, and the lyric sheets on the table right next to me. The lyrics that really caught my eye belonged to T.V.'s character, but even so, I loved them:

…_For every heart that bleeds_

_Will color your world red – _

_And the sorrow in the night_

_Will be the blue you cannot shed – _

_But your strength shall be a vision_

_Beyond visibility,_

_And the gift I've woven for you_

_Will give you new eyes to see – _

_That you can rise above,_

_Swing through the skies above,_

_And you shall rise above_

_Yourself_…

And Arachne was so right. Everyone had to rise above themselves at one point or another. This was mine. This was my chance to be an Alice Ripley – to be _great_.

This was my chance to fly.

**Lyrics are part of the original version of _Rise Above _from _Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark _before it was changed.**

**Review? :)**


	18. Easy To Love

**Should I be studying for midterms? Yes. Am I? No. Should I be learning lines/songs for our school musical, **_**Anything Goes**_**? Yes. Am I? No. Wow I really should be studying right now. I am not, however, I am writing this! :) Tonight is Adam Chanler-Berat's last night in **_**RENT **_**as Mark Cohen and a few nights ago was Annaleigh Ashford's last night as Maureen Johnson in **_**RENT, **_**at the New World Stages in NYC. :( Makes me so sad…I wanted to see them! So sad I never got the chance :(. Annaleigh was no Idina Menzel, but still, she'd have been fantastic to see! And Adam is just **_**Adam**_**! Well…as Jennifer Damiano would say: oh, well. Good luck to them both! Please, please, please, **_**please **_**review! Thanks and enjoy.**

Hope: "_Billy, this is all wrong! I'm marrying Evilyn and nothing can change that!_"

Billy: "_You love me, Hope. You're gonna marry me._"

Hope: "_You're being terribly bad, Billy! Why, we hardly know each other!_"

Billy: "_If _I'm _being terribly bad, than so are you!_ _Is it so terribly bad to love someone you can't? I don't find it terribly bad at all._"

- Part of a scene between Billy Crocker and Hope Harcourt from _Anything Goes_

_Chapter Seventeen_

_Rachel's POV_

I didn't remember falling asleep. I didn't remember waking up, either, in this strange, weightless world I'd been placed in. Everything was green – it was how I imagined Ireland, just like how Paulette from _Legally Blonde: The Musical _describes the magical land of her dreams. Or maybe it was more like Normandy from _Once Upon A Mattress_, the way The Jester and Minstrel describe it as a safe, perfect haven for characters who can exist no where else without feeling miserable, useless in every way. Even more then that, it could be New Mexico from the point of view of Buck and Blanche from _Bonnie & Clyde_; the place that they promised each other they would get to and live there together in happy, happy honeymoon bliss forever. And finally, it seemed like it was 'somewhere' from _West Side Story_ – '…_somewhere to set us free – somewhere, there's_ _got to be somewhere for you and for me_…'

And then, I saw myself – dressed head-to-toe in Natalie's clothes. And I did _not _look happy.

"How could you?" The girl I was looked at demanded of me. "How could you do this to me? I thought you actually _cared_!"

But then I realized.

"N-Natalie?"

She nodded.

"I am so disappointed in you, Rachel. I thought you were different. I thought _you _were _different_."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, walking closer to her. I tried to reach out and touch her but she quickly backed away. "Natalie…"

"Stop it!" She shrieked. "You don't get to touch me! You don't get to call me by name like I'm real!" There was a moment of sad, sad silence, and then she started tearing up. "I thought…you actually…_cared_. I thought I was real to someone for once in my miserable existence." She stopped again, and added: "how could you just…_abandon_ me like that?"

"I'm _not _abandoning you!" I yelled. "I'd never – "

" – But you _are_!" She shouted over me. "I can _feel _it. I'm getting weaker and weaker everyday because _you _don't _care _about me anymore!"

"That's not true!" Suddenly, the wind started picking up and I had to yowl over it. "I _do _care about you, Natalie – why would you say that I don't?"

"You're pulling away!" She screamed. "_Everyone's _pulling away! Don't leave me, Rachel – don't leave me to die!"

And then I woke up.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Blaine's POV_

"Meghann Fahy!" I demanded, stomping into the choir room. "What's this I hear about _Twilight: The Musical_?"

"Oh…" she laughed nervously. "Yeah. About that..."

"What's wrong, Blaine?" Rory asked, seeing the commotion, so I handed him the papers I'd printed out. They proclaimed:

_Twilight: The Musical – _

_Starring Meghann Fahy and Colin Hanlon as Bella and Edward_

"What _is _this?" I asked her, shocked completely. "How could you do this, Meg? Have Twi-hard aliens abducted your brain? And what about _Sam Brown_?"

"Calm down, Harry freakin' Potter," Meg stated, standing up. "First – it just one workshop. Only for a few days. B – it's a parody. And _tres_ – I'm not a Twi-hard or a hater. I'm neutral!"

"You…you can't just be _neutral_!" I spat. "You have to pick a side!"

"Can't I be on both sides?"

"_No_!"

"Fine, then," Meghann tilted her nose up in the air jokingly. "I was _going _to ask you to help me and out be Edward with the sheet music I've got here after school…but I'll just have Sam be Jacob _and _Edward."

"_Sam_?" Rory gasped. "Why would _Sam _help you out – he's _Sam_!"

"I don't know, he helped me out with _Run Away With Me_, remember?"

"I'll help you!" Rory let out.

"Really, Rory? You'd do that for me?"

"No problem," he said with a smile.

"Aw, thanks!" Meg responded, and we sat down as Mr. Schue walked in. He and Meghann stood up there, and Meg announced to the whole club about her upcoming days as Bella Swan.

"So I'll have to leave for a few days," she said. "But only about a week. Then I'll be back. And it'll be nice for me to be back with Rachel and Kurt and the rest of the cast again."

"Why does she have to leave at all?" Sam whispered to Mike behind Rory and I; the little Irish boy's eyes caught on fire. When they asked if anyone had their assignment ready, he stood up and proclaimed:

"Mr. Schue, I've got just the song to sing."

"Alright Rory – great!" He was glad to see the new kid participating.

"This is _Easy To Love _from _Anything Goes_," he said, and spoke the start of the song.

"You know, Reno – I guess you're right. I mean, me and Hope – who am I kidding? I don't stand a chance with a gal like her, do I?" Then he sang:

"_I know too well that I'm _

_Just wasting precious time _

_In thinking such a thing _

_Could be. _

_That you could ever care _

_For me. _

_I'm sure you hate to hear _

_That I adore you, dear, _

_But grant me, just the same, _

_I'm not entirely to blame, _

_For – _

_You'd be so easy to love, _

_So easy to idolize, all others above, _

_So sweet to wake in each new day with, _

_So nice to sit down to the eggs and bacon with – _

_We'd be so grand at the game, _

_So carefree together _

_That it does seem a shame – _

_That you can't see _

_Your future with me. _

_'Cause you'd be, oh, so easy to love – _

_You'd be so easy to love, _

_So easy to idolize, all others above, _

_So worth the yearning for, _

_So swell to keep the fire burning for. _

_Oh, how we'd bloom, how we'd thrive – _

_In a cottage for two, _

_Or even three, four or five, _

_So try to see _

_Your future with me _

_'Cause you'd be, oh, so easy to love._"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

"If I were you, Rach," Reeve said as he walked me to the Booth Theatre that same morning. "I really wouldn't worry about it. A dream is a dream, right? You're probably just too stressed out. Tell ya' what…" he sipped his coffee and then added: "…tomorrow's Monday, right? I'll take the day off and we can just chill. Do some no-stress stuff."

"That'd be great," I breathed. Maybe he was right. Maybe I _was _just stressed out. I _did _have a lot on my plate now, after all. "And maybe you're right. A dream is a dream. We're here," I said, and stopped at the stage door. "Thanks for walking me. See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," he said, and then mock-sang: "_Tomorrow, tomorrow – I love ya', tomorrow – it's only a day away!_"

I didn't know that, once I went inside, Reeve looked on after me like a sad puppy.

_We'd be so grand at the game, _

_So carefree together _

_That it does seem a shame…_

…'_Cause you'd be, oh, so easy to love._

**Yeah, it's short. But like I said, I should really go study biology now…**

**Lyrics: **_**Easy To Love **_**and **_**Easy To Love (Reprise) **_**from: **_**Anything Goes.**_

**Review? **


	19. Always

**I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I just read the original unedited Broadway script for **_**Next To Normal **_**three times while studying about cell theory and hydrocarbon bonds! I was literally crying while going "…a monomer of carbohydrates is a monosaccharide…a joint monomer of two carbohydrates is a disaccharide…" and at the same time in my head it was like: …**_**do this dance with meeeeeeeeeeee! Goodbye, Henry!**_** I was all: Natalie, why you no do dances? Gah! Yup. Okay: so today is the one-year anniversary of when **_**N2N **_**closed on Broadway! :( The finalizing cast was:**

**Marin Mazzie (Diana), Jason Danieley (Dan), Meghann Fahy (Natalie), Kyle Dean Massey (Gabe), Adam Chanler-Berat (Henry), and Louis Hobson (Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine)**

**So yeah. It's a sad day, Broadway fans. We lost an incredible, moving show. **

**Please review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_And I'm trying to enjoy it – but I'm missing all the fun._" – Natalie Goodman

_Chapter Eighteen _

_Rachel's POV_

"So…" I mused, walking down the street with Reeve that morning. "What're we doing today? What's your incredible no-stress plan?"

"The better question would be…what _aren't _we doing today as part of my incredible no-stress plan? Come on, we're gonna have the best day."

Our first stop was Dylan's Candy Bar – we legit ran all over the place with those little plastic buckets they give you and filled them to the top with different types of candy. Then we hit up M&M world and took pictures with the M&M guys like tourists do. We stood next to the people in line at the TKTS booth with the 'Need Help?' guys, and shouted out answers to the tourist-y theater questions.

"What show should I see?" Some lady asked.

"_Next To Normal_!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "Everyone – go see _Next To Normal_!"

"What show is best for kids?" A mom with a bunch of kids asked.

"_Next To Normal_," I responded.

"What show's good for a date-night?" A tough, biker-looking guy questioned next.

"_Next To Normal_," Reeve replied.

"What show has the most celebs on stage?"

"_Next To Normal_," the two of us said together.

"What show is the over-all best?"

"_Next To Normal_!" Me, Reeve, and the other three guys all shouted in one loud answer.

About an hour later, Reeve, T.V., Zane, and I gathered at a lane in the closest bowling ally. We bowled three games, and when we didn't want to the leave, went to a movie together too. It was fun. Simple as that. _Fun_. No strings attached. And again, it hit me – these guys…we could be a…family. All of us. We could be as close as the _N2N _cast…we could be – dare I say it – _closer_. When all of us are together…I feel like we could rise above anything.

"Thanks for today, Reeve," I said as we walked down to his place.

"It's no problem," he said. "Any time."

"It's just…" I started, and then shook my head. "Never mind."

"What?"

"It's just…I don't know. You're…you're always there for me, Reeve."

"And I always will be," he responded. "Always. Hey – wanna come inside?"

"I…yeah. Yeah I do."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"What was his name, Dan?" Alice boomed as Diana that next day, on stage. "God – what was his name? I don't ever remember hearing you say his name…" Kyle Dean enters, as Gabe, looking on as she continues: "…Why is that?"

"Diana!" Bobby started, as Dan, but then just repeated: "Diana…"

"What was his name?" Alice demanded again. "Tell me, Dan – what was his _name_?"

Then, as the two of them were about half-way into _It's Gonna Be Good (Reprise)_, Adam, as Henry, 'knocked' on the Goodman's 'front door'. He waited, and waited, and waited, and finally when no one answered, found his own way inside. God, I love Natalie's dress that she wears to the Spring Formal Dance – it's blue and has thicker straps on top with a sort of layered bottom going down until it was all flow-y and Hope Harcourt-like. Right now though, I had a long coat on over it so the audience couldn't see it yet – they only get to see it when Natalie finally shows up for the dance and she and Henry sing my favorite song of the show, _Hey 3/Perfect For You (Reprise)_. We call it the "_Perfect For You_" dress; not only because of the song, but it really is perfect in that 'makes-you-feel-like-a-princess' sort of way. Now Natalie ran down to Henry, and after a beat we both looked on at Diana's and Dan's catastrophic number. At the end of Alice's last '_what was his name_' riff, Bobby dropped the ever-so-important music box, the music suddenly stopping. Kyle Dean gasped. I ran to them, yelling:

"Dad! Jesus, Dad!"

"Natalie!"

But I ran back upstairs to the second level, and after a beat, Adam followed me up. Now was the start of _Why Stay?/A Promise_, the split-scene number where both Natalie and Diana ask Henry and Dan, in not so many words, 'why would you stay with a fucked-up case like me?' and they both answer, again in not so many words, 'because I love you.'. It's a beautiful and underrated number. In a single spotlight, Kyle Dean appeared, and started then his song _I'm Alive (Reprise)_. The show stalked closer and closer to the end – we plowed through _The Break_, _Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling (Reprise)_, and then, _Maybe_. After that last number I held Alice's hand for a moment longer then usual. I don't know why. I just felt like I had to – like I _needed _to. And a little later, during _Hey 3/Perfect For You (Reprise)_, I hugged Adam even until after the lights went out. And _Light_…I can't even tell you. _Light_. It's always a beautiful blur.

I'd never let Natalie go. I'd never abandon her. No matter how I'd change, or grow, or…moved on. She would always be part of me.

Always.

**Yeah. I know it's short. But, well, midterms. So…review?**


	20. I'll Be There

**Bio midterm tomorrow = challenge accepted. Wish me luck. Also: I haven't seen **_**Yes/No **_**yet so **_**nobody tell me anything**_**! And I just re-watched Kyle Dean Massey's vlogs for the billionth time and realized tomorrow is Thomas Richard Hobson's birthday! :D Happy birthday Thomas Richard Hobson! Yay! :D Thanks and enjoy.**

Bonnie: "…_You know baby, I could run – but my heart won't let me get far. I would die without you Clyde!_"

Clyde: "_I would die without you, babe!_"

Both: "_Now look how alive we are! It's too late to turn the clock back, it's too late for all 'a that…_"

Bonnie: "…_I knew I would make the headlines, but I didn't know just how!_"

Clyde (while Bonnie harmonizes): "…_It's too late to turn back now – who says we'd want too if we could? We could talk 'bout this forever, but it still won't do us good…_"

Bonnie: "…_I wouldn't leave ya' for the world, babe!_"

Clyde: "_And darlin', I would not know how!_"

Both: "_It's too late, too late to turn back now, too late to turn back now – it's too late to turn back – now!_" – Laura Osnes (Bonnie Parker) and Jeremy Jordan (Clyde Barrow), part of: _Too Late To Turn Back Now _from: _Bonnie & Clyde_

_Chapter Nineteen_

_Rachel's POV_

Laura burst into the apartment in one huge _woosh_, and before we could even ask her where she was or what the hell was going on, she ran to her laptop, and pulled up _Skype_.

"Wow…we've become less important then the boyfriend…" Annaleigh deadpanned. "That's sad. Really. That's sad."

"Ah, the honeymoon phase…" Krysta laughed. "When your blind to everything but that other person." Then she looked at me and added: "Thank God _you're _never in the honeymoon phase…"

"What'da'ya mean?" I asked.

"Rach," Molly said. "You're just…above that."

"_Maria – Maria – Maria_…" Josie sang under her breath, and we all laughed at that. But it was still weird that we were missing one laugh…Meg's. Thank God she'd be coming back soon, even if it _was _only for about a week.

"Puck!" Laura yelled into her _Skype _in the other room. "It made theater! They announced it to us today!"

"Whoa, whoa – back up!" Puck stopped her. "Start at the beginning!"

"Well…they called the cast of _Bonnie & Clyde _all together and told us that the show has officially made theater and it's gonna open at the Gerald Schoenfeld and I'm _so happy _Puck – oh my God…oh my God!" She was practically in tears of joy. "It's…it's just…I – "

" – Don't try to put it into words," Puck responded. "Your dreams are literally coming true. You can't put something like that into words. It's like…like your voice. It's so perfect and beautiful and…no words can do it justice, you just have to hear it to understand. It's like that. You just have to see it happening to understand."

"I wish I could kiss you through the computer screen," Laura sighed. "I'm sorry we're so far away…"

"When's your opening night?" Puck asked.

"Two weeks."

"I'll be there."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Finn's POV_

"Mr. Schue," I said, standing up once everyone gathered for glee club. "Blaine, Puck and I have our assignment ready. Can we sing it?"

"Sure, Finn," he said. "Go ahead, guys."

"What are you singing?" Meg asked, leaning on the piano.

"_I'll Be There_." And I pointed to Brad as Meghann nodded in happy agreement, and the music started:

Finn: "_You and I must make a pact_

_We must bring salvation back,_

_Where there is love, I'll be there._

_I'll be there…_"

Puck: _"…I'll reach out my hand to you_

_I'll have faith in all you do._

_Just call my name and I'll be there._

_I'll be there…_"

Blaine: "…_I'll be there to comfort you,_

_Build my world of dreams around you,_

_I'm so glad that I found you_.._._"

All: "…_I'll be there with a love that's strong,_

_I'll be your strength, _

_I'll keep holdin' on. (holdin' on)_

_Yes I will_

_Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter,_

_Togetherness, girl, is all I'm after,_

_Whenever you need me, I'll be there. (I'll be there)_

_I'll be there to protect you, (yeah baby)_

_With unselfish love that respects you._

_Just call my name, I'll be there. (I'll be there)_

_I'll be there to comfort you,_

_Build my world of dreams around you,_

_I'm so glad that I found you._

_I'll be there with a love that's strong,_

_I'll be your strength, _

_I'll keep holdin' on. _

_Oh oh oh _

_Yes I will (holdin' on, holdin' on)_

_Yes I will!_..."

Finn: "…_If you should ever find someone new,_

_I know he better be good to you_

_Cause if he doesn't _

_I'll be there_

_I'll be there…_"

Puck: "…_Don't you know, baby,_

_I'll be there,_

_I'll be there…_"

Blaine: "…_Where there is love, I'll be there…_"

All: "…_Just call my name, I'll be there (I'll be there)_

_Just look over your shoulders honey! Oh!_

_I'll be there, I'll be there,_

_Whenever you need me, I'll be there (I'll be there)_

_Don't you know baby,_

_I'll be there, I'll be there_

_Just call my name, I'll be there (I'll be there)_

_Oh oh oh oh I'll be there, I'll be there!"_

And everyone clapped as we sat back down.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

"Hey, Rachel," said Reeve on the other end of the phone.

"Oh – Reeve, hey!" I said with a smile, on the way the theater. "What's up?"

"Well…" he started sheepishly. "There's this script reading for…for you-know-what at the you-know-where theater…we were wondering…could you drop by?"

"Oh, sure…" I responded. "No problem. When is it?"

"Tomorrow."

"I'll be there."

**Yes, it's short. Why? Midterms. Lyrics: **_**I'll Be There **_**by: Jackson 5. **

**Review? **


	21. Choose Me

**Last midterm tomorrow! Yay, it's almost over! :) Also: there are new pictures on my profile if you're interested in looking. New ones of Laura Osnes, Meghann Fahy, etc. Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_just as I started to sing, it started to _monsoon_ outside! And I looked out at Julie Taymore, and she looked at me, and then looked outside, and then looked at me again, and then looked outside again – and I was like 'maybe she's weird enough to think that's a sign! I sure am! I sure do!' …and, yeah, it all worked out in end._" – Jennifer Damiano (on the first time she sang in front of Julie Taymore)

_Chapter Twenty_

_Finn's POV_

_C'mon_… I thought, tapping my pencil on my wrist, my now completely filled out _Scantron_ fill-in-the-bubble sheet lied out on my desk in front of me. _Just one more minute_… I told myself. _Just one more minute and the torture that is a physics midterm will be over. No more midterms after just one more minute. C'mon – come on! One more minute…_

But for the first time in a long time, I wasn't just counting down the minutes until I could hear Rachel's voice again. I wanted to get out of here – I _needed _to get out of here. Everyone talking about colleges and their futures…it's scary. Scary because I'm not the smartest, so I don't have the best grades, so college's acceptance letters might not be so easy to come by for me. It sucks. I work hard – I get sucky grades. That's the way it goes for me. The effort does not fit the outcome. I study for hours. I do all my homework. I pay attention in class. And…and still I get C's and D's. And then you have Rachel who's so beautiful and talented and smart and…so _perfect _that she's seventeen years old and already has a freakin' _career_. I'm just a small fish in a small pond. Why would she ever love _me_ when she can have any guy she wants? Why would she ever choose a life with me, here? Why should I even hope she'll choose settling down with me, here, in the long run? Some dead guy once said 'what would you do today if you knew you would not fail?'. Well…today, it feels like I fail at _everything_. God, please let her come back. Please let her choose me. Please, please, let her choose _me_…

_Brriiiiing! _

"Pencils down everyone," said my teacher. "The exams are now over." About a minute later, you could find me sitting in my car, _Skyping _with Rachel instead of driving.

"How was the midterm?" She asked.

"Okay," I said. "Yeah…yeah, it was okay. How's your day been?"

"Good," she smiled. "Good, normal – well, _next to normal_. I've got a script reading today, but other then that it's just another day."

"What's the script reading for?" I asked.

"Well," she started. "I didn't want to tell you until I was sure it'd turn into something…and it's kinda…top secret. It's this new project I've been sort of working. Could turn into something. I don't know. I haven't even met the director yet, only some of the cast."

"That's…cool," I responded. "That's great, actually. Right?"

"Yeah!" She smiled again. "I mean, it'll be great if it goes somewhere…" I heard a muffled voice in the background, and then: "Wanna say hi to Reeve?"

_Reeve?_

"Reeve? Who's _Reeve_?"

"One of the cast members! He's really nice, you'll love him!" Then she titled her phone back to reveal a guy with her. He had spike-ish brown hair and warm brown eyes, and was dressed like he was from another decade.

"Hey," he said, obviously trying way too hard to be cool. "So you're Finn, the boyfriend, huh?"

"_Yeah_," I said. "Yeah – I _am _the _boyfriend_."

"Well, it's great to meet you," Reeve added. "Rachel here sure _loves _you!"

"That's _right_," I said. "She _does_. And _I _love _her_."

"Oh, I meant to tell you," Rachel started. "You've got your ticket for the Tony's, right? And you've got your suit?"

"I'm all set," I answered. "I promise you I'll be red-carpet ready in a few day's time."

"He's coming?" Reeve asked Rachel. He might as well have asked '_he's _coming?'.

"Yes, _Reeve_," I declared. "_I _am coming."

"Oh, great – see you there, then."

"Uh-huh."

Then they had to go start their reading, and I gave Rachel kisses through the phone. It's not nearly the same thing, though. Now I was sure of one thing and one thing only.

Reeve Carney must be destroyed.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

I shook many hands that day at the Foxwoods Theatre. One of them belonged to a Ms. Julie Taymore.

"Great to finally meet you, Rachel," said the famed Broadway director. "Welcome aboard."

And, in that moment, she might as well have handed me a contract right then and there.

You could find Reeve, T.V. and I on stage, with Reeve in the middle, T.V. to his side, and me to his other side. You ever see that comic print-out of Spider-man with Mary Jane on one side and Spider-girl on the other? That's what we were recreating.

"You're right, Julie," mumbled a voice in the crowd. I couldn't see the mans face, because the house was dark, but I could tell there was some…spark there, like I'd heard his voice everyday on the radio all my life. "She's her."

"Yes, yes," said another voice, almost the same as the one before. "It all _looks _very nice but – sweetheart!" Was he talking to…_me_? "We've never actually heard you sing. Can you sing for us – that song on page seventy-five?" I quickly flipped open my script.

"_If The World Should End_?"

"Yes," said the first, Irish voice. "That one."

"Go on, Rach," Reeve nudged me. "Show 'em!" I opened my mouth then, and started to sing:

"_Don't think about tomorrow _– "

And, in that second, it started to _downpour_ outside on the waiting New York streets. Not just rain. Not just shower. _Downpour_.

_Monsoon_.

Julie Taymore's eyes were wider then anyone's eyes I'd ever seen. She looked outside, then at me, and repeated this process again. It's got to be a sign. It's _got _to be a sign. This is meant to be.

"Keep singing!" She finally yelled, and I did.

"_Don't think about tomorrow,_

_We've only got today_

_There's nothing that I want from you – _

_Not a word you have to say_

_You are all I need,_

_And all I can defend_

_All I need to hold on to_

_If the world should end._

_In my imagination_

_I could not have made this up_

_In a world stranger than fiction – _

_Ours is no fictional love!_

_I can see the you_

_Under your second skin_

_I can feel your heartbeat quicken_

_Quicken, and then slow_

_There's nothing else I need to know._

_And there's nothing you need to pretend – _

_If the world should end_

_And the sky tonight is luminous_

_For all the wrong reasons_

_And every doorway is hiding something_

_And if this world should all_

_Come crashing down – _

_I wouldn't care _

_At all!_

_And if there's no tomorrow_

_I'll have today again._

_There's no time for sorrow_

_When there's no such thing as time._

_And if the darkness will descend,_

_Don't need a savior or a friend_

_I can say I've really loved – _

_If the world should end_."

In my mind, I pictured Finn. In reality, I saw Reeve.

**Lyrics: _If The World Should End _from: _Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark_.**

**Love. That. Song. So. _Much_!**

**Also: I need more votes. Please speak up on if you want Rachel to win the Tony Award or not!**

**Review?**


	22. Aftershocks

**Midterms are over! Yay – yay – yay! And now a long weekend for me! :) So I read online that Adam Chanler-Beret came out of the closet recently. I love him just the same but I'm a little sad that my chances of marrying him are not literally down to zero. So that explains the part of this chapter where he comes out to Rachel. So yeah – any ship suggestions? Adam/Kyle Dean? Adam/Kurt? Adam/Blaine? Adam/Karofsky? And, while we're at it – do we like Puck/Laura (Paura)? Do we want them to stay together? Do we want them to sleep together? Tell me what you think, and please, please, **_**please **_**review! Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_The memories will wane – the aftershocks the remain. You wonder: which is worse – the symptom or the cure? …_" – Gabe Goodman, part of _Aftershocks_

_Chapter Twenty-One _

_Rachel's POV_

This was going to be a _great _day. As soon as the show was over, I'd pick up Meghann at the airport, stop by the Schoenfeld to get Laura, stop by the Marquis to get Kurt and Kate, and we'd go Tony dress shopping. I was _so _excited. The Tony Awards are like the Grammy Awards for other singers – they're our big night out, so, naturally, everyone goes all out. I can't wait to get my dress. I can't wait until that night…

I can't wait to write a speech.

"…All the preppies and the jocks are raiding their parents' medicine cabinets and popping Xanax and snorting Adderall." Adam continued on stage as I looked up to him, sitting with my knees against my chest.

"Really?" I asked, as Natalie – this is the part where she first gets the idea to try drugs.

"But me," Adam – well, Henry – continues. "I'm the master of the lost art. It's called making a pipe out of an apple!" The audience laughed as he took out that prop – and leave it to Natalie to roll her eyes and drone:

"Yeah. You're the MacGyver of pot." The house laughed some more, and he offered me a hit. "You promise this'll help?"

"Yeah, Nat…" but I turned my head away. "What?"

The music started, and I broke out into _Superboy And The Invisible Girl_. God, I loved this song. I loved preforming this one so, so much. It was Natalie's power ballad, her initial solo…but it was so much more to both Natalie and to myself. When I got to the first '_she's not there_' riff, I got this pang of a weird sort of feeling that I can only describe as…_nostalgia_. I'd spent a huge portion of my life as Natalie Goodman – what would I do once I _wasn't _anymore? It was the almost same feeling I had when I moved from middle school to high school, or when I moved from Lima to New York. I felt…scared. Intimidated. Like I was a tiny, tiny fish in a huge new pond. But this is different…I'd be in the same pond. There's only one pond. There's only one Broadway community. It's not like I'd never see my friends or my _Next To Normal _cast again. But…I'd never left a show before. People do it all the time! Is this why, on an actor's last night, there is _always _pictures of them crying? They _chose _to leave, didn't they? I start to feeling guilty, thinking that I'm _choosing _to leave Natalie Goodman behind. No – stop it. I can't think this way. The Tony Awards are tomorrow night. I can't think about leaving Natalie – I should be celebrating her. Because of her, I could potentially be winning one of the highest awards a Broadway actress can receive…at the age of seventeen. I saw an article online about me this morning, before the show. It proclaimed: 'Not so _Normal_ – Seventeen-Year-Old Nominated For _Tony Award_', and had my picture, along with a big write-up about how my generation is changing musical theater. And then, I saw something else: I'm the favorite to win. How is that possible? I'm up against grown women who are _way _more experienced then me! But…the Tony's are all about awarding actors and actresses who make their shows and become their characters…and I've done that, without a doubt…

I tell myself there's no chance I'll win. The last thing I need is to jinx the chance I have.

"…_She's not there!_"

I belted out the last riff with Kyle Dean, and the audience cheered and clapped. God, this felt so good. This is what my life is finally like. This is what performing is like. This is what _love _is like.

And later, during _Better Then Before_, Dan, Diana, and Natalie all gathered around a table, photos and clippings all sprawled out. The ECT caused memory loss for Diana, and this was another one of Dan's attempts to make it 'better then before'. Natalie had _had it_, and was about to leave, but threw her hands up in the air and proclaimed:

"All right – fine!" And I sang while grabbing new pictures:

"_Here's the headline in the paper_

_When you freaked out at the market,_

_Here's the house on Walton Way after the fire…_"

"Natalie…" her father interrupted, but I kept on going:

"…_Here's the damage to the Honda_

_ When you showed me how to park it._"

"Did we crush somebody's cat beneath the tire?"

"Yes – ours!" More pictures, and I continued:

"_Here's Dad at my recital, _

_ And we're wondering where you are…_"

"I remember this," Diana spoke in-time. "I made it to the school."

"Wait," Dan started. "You remember?"

"It was the year of too much lithium – I hid out in the car!"

"Yes!" Then Alice added to me:

"And your swim meet just last year – I'm in the pool?"

"So you are."

"You're getting it!" Dan cheered. "You've got it, Di – hooray!" But Alice just looked at me:

"Your life has kind of sucked, I think…" and Natalie's response would – of course – be:

"You've got it! Yay! Hooray!"

We finished the last part of the song actually singing, and I could only think about one thing – I wasn't Natalie anymore. My life hasn't _kind of sucked _at all…right now, at least, my life's going great! I've got a Tony nomination, a boyfriend who loves me, the show's doing amazingly, I'm with my cast everyday again, I've got a much better relationship with my mom… _Weird, _I thought. _I'm not Natalie Goodman. At all._ The bottom line is – I don't swear a lot. I don't do drugs. I don't go out clubbing. I'm not sarcastic. I'm don't feel invisible – not anymore, at least. So why am I so close to Natalie? How did she come out of me in the first place? How can she continue to? The last thing I want is to hurt her because of me. But we used to be so similar. And…I don't want to never be Natalie again. I love Natalie – I've been connected to her for so long. But I can't be selfish here – I can't hurt her by holding onto her. Maybe, soon, I'd have to let her go. But that doesn't mean I can't still be apart of her – and be so, so thankful to Natalie Goodman for what she's given me.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"Hey, Rach," said Adam after the show, right before we went out to stage door. "I've got to tell you something."

"Sure," I said, gesturing for him to come into my dressing room. He sat down on one of the chairs and I added: "You can tell me anything."

"Yeah…" he seemed kind of nervous. "The thing is…I've never…really…just _told _anyone before. I…" he stopped, breathed, and looked me straight in the eye.

"Come on," I said. "Adam, just say it."

"Okay…" he took a deep breath and said: "Rachel, I'm gay."

"Okay," I responded. "Thanks for telling me. You alright?"

"Yeah…" Adam nodded. "Feels good, actually."

"Good," I smiled at him. "Now let's go stage door. I've got a Tony dress to by."

And we walked out, hand-in-hand, to meet the crowd.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Puck stood by his locker, loading books in his backpack to go home. _Ugh_… he scoffed to himself. _So much homework_… Then, he felt a small tap on his shoulder.

"Um…hi."

"Quinn?" He asked once he turned around. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I…just…" she sighed. "Look, I just wanted to say…thank you. And I'm sorry. You know – for everything with Beth and all that? I'm sorry. And thanks, for setting me straight. I'm on some meds now. Not forever, just for a while. I…I'm happy for you. With your new girlfriend and all…"

"Well, thanks…" Puck answered. "And I'm happy for you, too. I'm glad you're moving on."

"It's just…that day, at the hospital…" she murmured. "You told me you loved me. Do you still love me?"

"Yes, Quinn, I'll always love you. But not like that. I'll always love you like the whole glee club loves each other – you're family. You're Beth's mother. But do I love you like I used to anymore? No. I don't. And I've never loved anyone like I love Laura."

"Yeah," Quinn nodded. "I'm glad you said that. I needed to hear that. Thank you – for not being angry at me. I…thank you. I'll see you in glee club."

Quinn didn't want to cry as she walked away from Puck. This was just another part of her treatment. Making amends with herself and with everyone else she needs too. She told herself to forget what was and to look to what will be. College. A new life. Puck sure didn't have a problem with moving on…and she couldn't, either. It'd get easier, right?

_Your life goes back to normal now,_

_Or so they all believe._

_Your heart is in your chest again,_

_Not hanging from your sleeve._

_They've driven out the demons _

_And they've earned you this reprieve:_

_The memories are gone._

_The aftershocks live on._

_But with nothing to remember – _

_Is there nothing left to grieve?_

**Aw, Quinn. :( I've got a ship idea saved up though, maybe. Next chapter…the Tony Awards! :D Of course, there'll be Finn/Rachel/Reeve drama, awards won or not won, speeches given, fabulous dresses, and Neil Patrick Harris! And remember what I said about Paura doin' the nasty? That might possibly happen next chapter when she comes back and finds a certain mohawked boy with a guitar and a song? Maybe? So…review? Please? :)**


	23. I've Already Won

**Sorry it's been so long. Lots of homework. :( But this chapter is the Tony Awards! :D Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_I thought I would be really upset and angry if I didn't win – but then I realized…we'd already won._" – Jennifer Damiano (on her Tony nomination)

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

_Kurt's POV_

"…And here we are at the 63rd Annual Tony Awards! I am the always awesome Susan Blackwell, and I'll be taking you, the viewers at home who really, really, _really _wish you were me right now, across the red carpet and into Radio City Musical Hall until they yell at me and possibly kick me out for having a camera in here! No, I'm just kidding, they wouldn't do that to me – I've got the dirt on all of them…"

Susan Blackwell's voice in the background seemed to have a calming affect on all of us. Poor Rachel. I'm not even nominated and I'm nervous about going out there. Oh, God. My palms are sweating. _Ew_ – _ew _– _ew_…

"Hey," said Kate soothingly, walking over to me. "Are you okay?" She looked beautiful, but then again Kate always looks beautiful. Her dress was long and light orange, and her hair was down and framing her pretty face. We all were gathered inside the lobby now around a few refreshment tables before the red carpet coverage starts – then we'd all head outside and walk the carpet to the entrance of Radio City. I looked over to the big screen showing another part of the building, where the nominated shows for Best Musical were setting up for their pre-Tony performances – there was Rachel, with Alice Ripley and Aaron Tveit around her.

"Yeah," I answered honestly. Why should _I _be nervous? Like Sutton Foster once said, when you're nominated, the Tony's are the scariest night of your life; when your not, it's the most fun. That's what tonight will be all about. Fun. "Yeah, I'm fine Kate. Now lets go find Janet and Darren before they start making-out again."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **

_Rachel's POV_

"You are going to do so great," Finn said, letting go of my hand as he went to wait with the other dates while the casts of performing shows finished setting up. "And you're going to win tonight, too."

At first, when they told me I'd have to perform _Superboy _for the pre-Tony performance, I was nervous. Then, I was less nervous when they told me it would be with the original cast, which meant Aaron was coming back. But as the date grew closer and closer, the butterflies in my stomach started turning into sparkling fireworks of excitement. I'd been dreaming of this moment all my life, standing on stage for the pre-Tony performance, surrounded by my friends and cast-mates, my perfect boyfriend off in the wings waiting for me. This had been my dream all my life…

"Hey!" Josie came over, her hair looking extra-long with one braid down the side, in her white Maria _I Feel Pretty _dress. "_Tienes buena suerte ahí fuera_…I mean, um…good luck out there!"

"You too, Josie," I said with a big smile, and hugged her. "Wow, you look great," I'd never actually seen her as Maria before. "Like the ghost of Natalie Wood…but, you know, younger and not dead…" She laughed and we hugged one more time before her co-star called her back over to practice some more.

"…And here is where the lucky people who get to put on a pre-Tony performance do their _thaaaang_…" came the voice of Susan Blackwell, walking in while talking into a microphone. A tiny man with a portable camera followed her. "Oh. My. _God_." She declared. "It's my arch nemesis!" The little camera zoomed and showed a close-up on Sutton Foster's face. "Hell_ooooo _Sutton Foster," said Susan, getting right up in her face. "We meet again."

"Hell_oooooooooooooooo _Susan Blackwell," Sutton responded, dressed up in her princess costume from _Shrek: The Musical_. She had Linus, her sidekick and shih tzu puppy, wrapped up in her arms. "But this time, I've got my sidekick!"

"Are dogs aloud in here?" Susan asked, and Sutton smiled and said:

"Linus isn't a dog. He's family."

"Sorry, Sutton," said one of the security workers. "But I've got to take him outside." He took Linus away from the already Tony-winning actress, scooped him up, and brought him outside without another word. Sutton frowned over-dramatically at the camera.

"My doggie just got taken away…"

"Sutton Foster's doggie just got taken away…" Susan laughed.

And soon, Susan Blackwell went back outside to start the red carpet coverage, I fist-bumped with Aaron, and gave Alice's hand a squeeze for good luck.

"Here we go," she said, as the lights turned on us.

Later in the night, when I stepped out onto the red carpet with Finn, people started cheering. My dress was very similar to Natalie's blue one, the one I call the _Perfect For You _dress. It was the same shade of deep blue only mine was strapless and had a flower on the side. You're probably expecting people with cameras and flashing lights to run up to me and ask 'who are you wearing?' right? Well, it might be like that in Hollywood, but in New York, it's different. Nobody cares enough to ask. The press here just wants to snap a few pictures and go home to their families. In New York, there's no masks being worn by anybody. There's no totally fake reality stars; there's no un-true magazine headlines. Why do you think Broadway stars are never in magazines? I'll let you in on a little secret: it's because we've got the best of both worlds – we're famous to Broadway fans, but everyone else could care less. We have to be the most talented people in the world, but no cameras pry into our personal lives. We get to sing and dance and act for our jobs, but you'll never see a Broadway star buy a million-dollar dream home, or for that matter, earn a paycheck for it.

"Have fun out there tonight," said one of Susan Blackwell's interns as I passed by her. "And good luck!"

Once inside, Finn and I found our seats we were behind Alice and her husband directly, diagonal from Aaron, Adam, Meg, Kyle Dean and the rest of the understudies, and just in front of Bobby and his wife. We weren't too far from Kurt and Kate, either, and he mouthed to me 'you look so beautiful'. I mouthed back 'thank you, so do you.' Finn kissed me on the cheek and told me he was proud of me. And you know what? _I _was proud of me. It didn't matter if I'd win or loose. I had my family. I had my cast. I had Finn. I've done the best that I could as Natalie, and isn't that all that should matter?

Whatever happens tonight…I've already won.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Back in Lima, Puck and Blaine gathered the New Directions for a Tony party. Yup, you heard me right. _Tony party_. Puck figured if the football guys heard about this, he'd be dead. But he just wanted to see his girlfriend! And if Rachel won, that'd be pretty cool too for the whole team.

"Did you see them yet?" Blaine asked, passing around sodas. Rachel and Finn had already gone in, but they went first because Rachel was nominated.

"Here's Kurt now," Puck told him, and Blaine whipped around. Kurt walked the red carpet with Kate Shindle, his co-star, at his side. Her dress was pretty, and Kurt looked like he'd taken _hours _to look so good in his suit. One of the Broadway reporters asked them how they felt about _Wonderland_, their show, getting snubbed.

"Snubbed?" Kurt asked. "We're here, aren't we?" Kate laughed and added:

"We know not every show is going to be _Les Mis_ or _Spring Awakening _winning shows," she shrugged. "We're just happy to be here!"

"Have fun in there," said the reported and they walked in. Blaine's smile on his face was huge, and he clanked sodas with Sam, Mercedes, Mike and Tina before taking a huge swig. Puck waited for Laura's arrival as Quinn sat alone in the corner, feeling rather miserable.

"I'm here with up-coming Broadway stars, Reeve Carney…" said another reporter as the blonde's eyes caught the television. The guy in question walked arm-and-arm with an Asian girl who looked just like Tina would about ten years from now. "…And T.V. Carpio. Reeve – any predictions for the winners tonight?"

"Well Susan," said 'Reeve', whoever he was. "You can put all my money on Rachel Berry winning for Best Featured Actress, that's for sure!" Quinn didn't know who this guy was, but she wondered why he was so gung-ho about _Rachel_…

And after another few minutes of Puck being totally impatient, the camera zoomed and showed Laura and her co-star, Jeremy Jordan walking down together. Puck let out a breath, a big smile forming on his face that he couldn't control if he wanted to. Her dress was light pink and sweeping and her hair went down in loose curls. Puck suddenly wished they were closer. He wished he could've known why she pick _that _dress, why she did her hair _that _way. He wished he had been the voice telling her 'pick that dress', and 'do your hair that way'. He wished he could be walking that red carpet with her, right now.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"Hello," said Neil Patrick Harris as he took the stage to host. "I'm teen heartthrob Neil Patrick Harris," we all laughed. "And I just thought I should tell you…"

"And here comes the big opening number," I whispered in Finn's ear.

"_If you've seen a show,_

_Then you already know, _

_How magical theater can be!_

_It's a two-hour, live-action, barely affordable, un-lip-synced vision of _Glee_!_

_So, this song goes out to the rest of you – _

_Those who've never seen theater before. _

_Because Broadway has never been broader,_

_It's not just for gays anymore! _

_If you feel like someone that this world excludes,_

_It's no longer only for dudes who like dudes!_

_Attention every breeder, _

_You're invited to the theater,_

_It's not just for gays anymore! _

_The glamor of Broadway is beckoning straight – _

_The people who marry in all 50 states!_

_We're asking every hetero to get to know us better-o _

_It's not just for gays anymore!_

_It's for fine, upstanding Christians, _

_Who know all the song from Grease,_

_It's for sober-minded businessman,_

_Who yearn for some release._

_So, put down your Playboy and go make a plan,_

_To pick up a Playbill and feel like a man!_

_There's so much to discover_

_With your different-gendered lover!_

_It's not just for gays, the gays and the Jews, and cousins in from out of town you have to amuse!_

_And the sad, embittered malcontents who write the reviews!_

_And also forgoing tourists and the gross senior citizens, and well-to-do suburbanites, and liberal intellectuals – _

_Though that group is really only Jews and homosexuals._

_I've lost my train of thought: oh yes, It's not just for gays anymore! _

_So, people from Red states, and people from Blue:_

_A big Broadway rainbow is waiting for you!_

_Come in and be inspired, there's no sodomy required!_

_Oh it's not just for gays, no it's not just for gays, We'd be twice as proud to have you it you go both ways!_

_Broadway is not just for gays anymore!_"

We all clapped and had to gasp from laughing too much. The night progressed on until a presenter, some older guy who's name I don't know, stepped up and started the intro for the Best Leading Actress In A Musical.

"And the nominees are…" the presenter named two of the nominees, and then: "…Sutton Foster, _Shrek: The Musical_," Sutton smiled like the pro that she is. "…Josephina Scaglione, _West Side Story_," Josie smiled but looked like she was going to have a heart attack. "…And Alice Ripley, _Next To Normal_. And the winner is…Alice Ripley." We all jumped up without thinking to hug Alice and clap for her. Once she got up to the stage, I looked over to Josie, who was clapping as if she were one of us. Because, in her mind, she'd already won.

Alice made a really, really good speech. She quoted JFK and brought everyone to tears. Then: "…the nominees are," started the next presenter. "…and Rachel Berry, _Next To Normal_. And the winner is…Rachel Berry."

I don't remember my speech. The only reason I know what I said now is because I watched it back on YouTube the next day. It went something like this:

"Wow. Wow, I uh…I didn't expect to be standing here tonight, and I tried to write a speech but I felt so stupid…" People laughed, but it wasn't even meant to be funny. "I need to thank Brain and Tom and Michael, for writing, composing and directing such a beautiful, beautiful show…without you guys, there'd be no _Next To Normal _at all. I need to thank my cast – the lovely Alice Ripley…" I pointed down to her. "…Who just won earlier tonight – thank you, thank you for being there…and Bobby, Adam, Aaron, Louis, Kyle Dean, and Meghann, and my cast and crew…thank you for being my family. I need to thank my dads for believing in me and supporting me, and to the academy…thank you for your recognition of this character – of this show…" I was crying. "…And thank you to my boyfriend Finn, and the New Directions, and Mr. Schue and Brad the piano guy…" more laughter, even though nobody but Meg really knew what they were laughing at. "And I just have to say: this is for all the Natalie Goodman's out there. For all of us who have to be brave every single day of lives and put on a fake smile – well, tonight the smiles don't have to be _fake _at all. Thank you!"


	24. Check Please

**I should be writing my history paper…but **_**Smash **_**was so good last night! And now new **_**Glee **_**tonight! Yay! So – **_**Anything Goes**_** + homework = no time to write. :( But I'm here now! :) Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_Fade up on a star,_ _with it all in her sights:_ _all the love and the lights_ _that surround her._ _Someday she'll think twice,_ _of the dues and the price_ _she'll have to pay – but not today._ _She'll do all she can,_ _for the love of one man, and for maybe millions who love from afar!_ _I'm what you've been needing, i__t's all_ _here and my heart's pleading: let me be your star!_" – Part of "Let Me Be Your Star" as heard on the _NBC _show _Smash_

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

_Rachel's POV_

Tony stood very still on his little space set aside on the shelf part of my vanity in my dressing room. Some people think Tony looks like Oscar – that he looks like a man, or a little figurine. On the contrary – and yes, now I can use big words because I'm a _freakin' Tony winner_! – Tony doesn't look like he should have the _name _Tony at all. The statue that bares the same name as the male lead in _West Side Story _is actually more closely related to a little gold coin, held up on a half-spinning axis, as if it were a globe. On one side are the masks of comedy and tragedy; on the other the literal words '_TONY AWARD_'. The perfect, black platform it stood on was engraved with:

_Rachel Barbra Berry_

_Best Supporting Actress In A Musical_

_Natalie Goodman – Next To Normal_

_2011-2012_

_63__rd__ Annual Tony Awards_

There are no words to describe my relationship with Tony.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Blaine's POV_

I sure hope Kurt's doing all right – his show wasn't nominated for _anything _and that can only mean the good times won't last much longer…

"_Of course_ I'll be there!" Puck declared into his phone before the first bell rang, with Laura on the other line. "No, no – baby, don't worry I'll be there for your opening night tomorrow, and I'll be there for Valentine's Day!"

"Valentine's Day?" I murmured under my breath. In that moment, Laura Bell Bundy's voice popped into my head and shouted: _Girls! I have a completely brilliant plan! _Valentine's Day…I _cannot _wait…

"But the thing is, my parents are coming up to visit tonight," Laura said into her cell phone.

"That's good, right?" Puck asked.

"Well…it's just…whenever they come up they try to convince me to move back to Minnesota!" She yelled out quickly. "And they _hate _New York and tell me every chance they get!"

"And…you want me to come up early and help you out?"

"You…you want to meet my _parents_?" Laura gasped. "Puck, they're _awful_!"

"Well, seeing as _you _came from them, they can't be _that _awful!" Puck countered. "And I'll ditch school and get on a plane right now. Then I'll be there to see you're opening night anyway…and I'll be back by Valentine's Day."

"Valentine's Day…" Laura mumbled, and then giggled like a schoolgirl. I nudged Puck when I heard her through the phone. He hung up and said:

"Warbler, get Finn. We're ditching and hopping a plane to the City."

And how could I say no?

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Finn's POV_

"There they are!" Rachel called, and she, Laura and Kurt ran up to the three of us. JFK airport can be like a zoo, but no when you've got three true New Yorkers with you. While Rachel, Kurt, Blaine and I went to hang out at Kurt and Kate's, Laura and Puck headed to a much too fancy restaurant…_Sardi's_ – as Rachel would say: the birth place of the Tony Award; the place where Broadway performers get their soul-food.

"Are you okay?" Puck asked when they sat down, putting one hand over hers.

"Yeah," she answered. "It's just…I want them to be proud of me. _So _much. And…they're just…_not_."

"Laura, there's no one in the world who I'm more proud of then you," Puck said. "I don't think it's possible for them not to be."

Laura's parents looked a lot like her, Puck thought, only much more…Minnesota-y. Like they were confused, Midwestern 'folks' who didn't even know how to take the subway. _Did I ever look like that to her? _Puck suddenly wondered, hoping the answer was no.

"Mom…Dad…" Laura stood up, trying not to look like all she wanted to do was impress them. "I'm so – so glad to see you!" She hugged them and Puck stood, too. "This is…Noah. My, uh, my boyfriend." Puck shook their hands and Laura's father mumbled: 'her boyfriend has a _mohawk_?' before they all sat again.

"Oh-ho _my_!" Mrs. Osnes exclaimed, looking at a menu. Laura's eyes shot up. "Oh, it's just these _prices_! They're _a little different _then back home…"

"Mom, don't worry about it," Laura said. "My new show starts tomorrow night, remember? I'm treating you guys." Mr. Osnes literally started laughing and boomed:

"Oh, sweetie, we _know_ what you make…"

"Excuse me?" Laura blinked.

"Well, there's a reason _Broadway stars _don't buy the big Hollywood mansions…" her mother added. There was some awkward silence until Laura's father bellowed:

"So! Noah, was it?" He turned to Puck. "What is it you do for a living?"

"Oh, sir, I'm an entrepreneur!" Puck declared without missing a beat, throwing a glance at his girlfriend. "Yes, you see I own my own aquatics business – I find it's such an underrated field!"

"Your own…aquatics business?"

"That's right," Puck continued. "See, my uh, company and I believe that if we pay particular attention to the sanitation of water, so much good can come of it – if not, well, so much bad…" Translation: his pool-cleaning business is good because without it, water is nasty.

"Interesting…" Mrs. Osnes droned, nodding, as if she totally bought it. Laura decided she would have to remember to thank him later for being so amazing. "Do you come to New York City often, Noah?"

"As much as I can," he answered. "And I love it almost as much as I love your daughter." Laura's parent's exchanged a glance. "You don't have to have any doubt about her," Puck continued on. "She's the most talented person I know, and I'm extremely proud of her."

"You don't have to tell me that," Laura's father responded. "You remember, sweetie, you did that play in high school – "

" – _Musical_, Dad," Laura cut him off. "_Music Man _is not a play. It's a _musical_."

"That's right!" Her mother joined in. "All we heard for weeks was 'what a voice!'. Who knew _that _would turn into…well…_this_…"

"Okay – Mom, Dad, I'm not doing this again!" Laura snapped. "I'm sick of you trying to undermine my career! I've worked hard to be where I am today!"

"Worked hard?" Her father laughed again. "You won a reality show that nobody watched!"

"_Dad_!"

"Oh, Laura, don't listen to him," her mother added. "It's just…this is no way to support yourself – one job one day, another the next – do you really think this is any kind of…stable lifestyle?"

"No," she answered. "And I'm perfectly okay with that. Sometimes, dreams are hard."

"And sometimes, Laura," Mr. Osnes said quietly. "Dreams are dreams. Do you know how many 'actresses' actually go on to win big awards and play big parts – ? "

" – That's why it's so incredible when you have someone like Laura," Puck jumped in, interrupting him. "She started out in an untraditional way, and now is a genuine Broadway star. She's so brave and has so much courage and heart and passion…and I think her dreams are reality." He grabbed her hand, and Laura raised her other in the air.

"Waiter? Check, please!"

**Yeah, it's short – like I said, homework and **_**Anything Goes **_**and tennis practice and…yeah. So…review? Please? :)**


	25. Opening Night

**So, if you're looking for another story, check out my new one, **_**Picture Show**_**! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter – I think it's really cute. :) Remember to review. I've got to ask: do we want Paura, Klaine, and Finchel to stay good, or are breakups in their midst? Review with suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_I only care that he's mind and I am his – there ain't no rules, that's how it is. Most girls would hate to be standin' in my shoes – but true love's something you don't choose! 'Cause you love who you love, and you go with what you feel: and you never think what's down the road when your fairytale seems real. Oh, you love you who you love, common scene may say it's wrong: there's a part of him you know is wild, maybe that's what made you love him all along. Maybe that's what made you love him – all a long!_" – Part of the song "You Love Who You Love" from: _Bonnie & Clyde_

_Chapter Twenty-Four_

_Finn's POV_

Rachel, Puck, Blaine, Kurt, Kate, Meg, the rest of Rachel's roommates, and I all packed into the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater that night at eight-o'-clock exactly. Once we all found our seats, Kate and Kurt high-fived each other and squeaked.

"Another Frank Wildhorn show!" Kate exclaimed.

"Should we take a picture and send it to him?" Kurt asked, and once Kate nodded, they smiled bigly and held up a Playbill for _Bonnie & Clyde _between them. Kurt handed me his phone and I took the picture.

"Aw, we're _so cute_!" Kate laughed jokingly, and sent the picture.

"Um…I'm confused…" I admitted. "What just happened?"

"See, Frank Wildhorn is the composer of _Wonderland_," Kurt explained. "That means he wrote the music. And he's the composer of _Bonnie & Clyde_, too, look at your Playbill!"

I always thought Playbills were the Broadway version of a program you got at the beginning of a concert – they wouldn't really tell you anything. But wow, I was wrong. Playbills tell you who's who in the cast, all the songs and numbers, who had parts in creating the show, all of it. And, if you're lucky, after the show ends you can wait outside by the stage door and get your Playbill signed by the actors and actresses…lucky for us, we can get our _favorite _Broadway actors and actresses to sign anything at any time.

We were all silent for a minute, looking at the stage. It was set up in a really cool way, the floor looking like loose floorboards and the background matched, but was actually a projection screen. According to Laura, during the show they projected pictures of the real Bonnie and Clyde, and clips of the real news headlines about them, to remind everyone that this is a true story they're telling. Just then, Puck's phone vibrated in his pocket.

"All be back," he said, and walked down towards the way the actors go to get backstage.

"Where do you think you're going?" A security person asked him threateningly.

"To go see my girlfriend," Puck answered, unafraid. "See this text?" He held up his phone. "See? It says 'Laura' in the contact name. Laura, as in, Laura Osnes? You know…star of the show?"

"What do you want with her?"

"I just told you, she's my girlfriend. And she gave me permission to come backstage – "

"Yeah, nice try kid," the guard barked. "One more strike and I'll be kicking you out! Now go sit down before I confiscate your ticket!"

Puck did what any guy would do – he went to sit down, and, when the idiot guard was distracted, made a break for it.

"Hey!" He yelled, knocking on Laura's co-star's dressing room door, once down where the actors stayed. "The security guards are after me! We gotta make this quick! Open up!" Jeremy Jordan's door swung open and Puck ran in. "Wh-what are the chances of the security people kicking me out now?"

"If they catch you?" Jeremy laughed, putting on his Clyde Barrow hat. "One hundred. If they don't? Zero. Simple as that. Here's the flowers you told me to keep safe," and he handed Puck the bouquet of flowers the mohawked boy had given him earlier. "She doesn't know about them."

"You sure?"

"Totally," the actor responded. "Kept 'em outta sight, just like you told me. Now go wow her so I can warm up."

"Okay, good luck out there tonight. Um, I mean…break a leg!" With that, Puck ran as quietly as he could down the hall until he reached the door that said _Laura Osnes – Bonnie Parker _on it and knocked until she opened it.

"Hey!" She exclaimed.

_God_, Puck thought, _Oh God – oh wow, oh wow, oh wow_. She was hardly even recognizable in a curly redheaded wig and long, red dress. She had one of the old-time hats that looked European – Puck didn't know what they were called – and had so much makeup all over. He couldn't stop smiling – it's not that he liked or like this or didn't. He didn't feel either way about her appearance – but he was so happy because _she _was so happy.

"Hey," Puck breathed. "I'm not supposed to be back here, but for luck…" and he handed her the flowers.

"Oh, wow…" she breathed, and hugged him. "My head is pounding," she told him. "I feel drunk."

"You? _Drunk_? I thought you barely drank…"

"I do barely drink. I just feel…I don't know. Lightheaded and dizzy. Like I'm going to just drop. Like I'm going to _die_."

"It's just pre-game jitters," Puck said. "I get that before big football games. Perfectly normal. You've done this millions of times before. You're a star, remember?" Her only response was to lay her head into his shoulder. "C'mon, don't let this scare you. You're _you_, for the love of God! You just need to get into your rhythm."

"I know…" she groaned. "You're right…"

"I was gonna wait to tell you this 'til later," he said. "But I got into some colleges here in the City, and I'm going to one – I'm not sure which one yet, but one of them, and then think about it! You'll be here, and I'll be here…"

"_Mmm_…" she murmured.

"Listen, like I said – you just have to get into it. You need to get into your rhythm. I guarantee you, not even half way through the first act, you'll think it's the 1930s and your name is Bonnie Parker – "

"There he is!" Yelled an oncoming security guard. "Get him!"

"Wait, Bruno, it's okay!" Laura explained. "He's with me!" Bruno made a 'humph' noise and looked from Laura to Puck.

"You got lucky this time, kid," he finally barked. "Enjoy the show…" and simply walked away. Then, the lights flashed and a loud voice came over the loudspeaker:

"Attention actors, attention actors, this is the five-minute call! Repeat, this is the five-minute call! Five-minutes to places!"

"Thank you, five!" Laura and all her co-stars yelled together. "Now go to seat," she told Puck. "I don't want you to miss anything!"

And five minutes later, once the lights dimmed and the curtain rose, Puck was practically on the edge of his seat. About two hours after that, he swore he'd never see a more beautiful show in his whole life. The audience as a whole _loved _the show, giving Jeremy, Laura, and then the whole cast full standing ovations. But what Puck was really excited for then, was the stage door. When the rest of his friends and Laura's went to go eat, Puck stayed behind and waited at the stage door like a fan. They waited in silence, and suddenly, the crowd roared Jeremy and Laura's names.

"Such a beautiful show!" A lady near him shouted as they took pictures and signed Playbills. "Are you making an album?"

"Definitely!" Jeremy answered, as Laura signed away. "We're so glad there's a positive response, especially to the music." Moving on to the next person, a teenage girl, Laura asked:

"Who should I make this out to?"

"Carly," she answered. "Great show, by the way, you're awesome! Can I get some pictures?" They said yes and pictures were taken. "Thank you!" Finally, Laura made it to where Puck was standing.

"Well hello there," she said. "Who can I make this out to?"

"How about 'the best boyfriend ever'?"

They kissed and the crowd went crazy, but to both of them, it was like nobody else was in sight.

"Hey," he started when they broke apart. "Will you be the Bonnie to my Clyde?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

And they kissed again.


	26. Over

**Sorry this took a while but I'm back! :) Please don't be mad at me for what happens in this chapter: only temporary, I promise. Anyway, please review! Thanks and enjoy.**

"_Once, another actor told me: 'Kate, in this business, auditioning is the real job of it all – when you're actually on stage is like a paid vacation!' I think that's kind of horrible. Honestly, I had auditions. They make me feel vulnerable. They make me feel weak. They make me feel scared. I don't know about you, but I don't like to feel that way. Auditions suck. I think so, anyway – but they're all part of the job. Finding a new show every once in a while is all part of the job. It doesn't make me want to stop – it makes me want to keep going_." – Kate Shindle

_Chapter Twenty-Five_

_Finn's POV_

Rachel's roommates can be looked at in two ways: super-cool and artsy, or super-weird and freakish.

"Oh, Broadway Award," Krysta whooped, on her knees with her hands folded as if in prayer. "Bestower of bragging rights! Thank you for pathing the way for this, and all future breakthroughs! Forgive my lack of worship while I was away. I shall now bestow upon you the five ceremonial kisses, for the five Broadway shows which have led me to you!" She then opened her eyes and realized that her award was nowhere in sight. She looked under the table, moved around some of the near by picture frames, then let out: "Where is my award? _Where _is my award? Have you seen it?"

"Me?" I asked. "Um…no."

"_Where_ is my…" then, it hit her. "_Annaleigh_!" She screeched, jumping up and running into the blonde's room. From behind her door, you could hear a muffled:

"_Shit_!"

"Do you have it, Annaleigh?" Krysta demanded. "Where is it – ?" But she was cut off by the sight of her own award, I assumed, as I listened from outside in their little living room. Krysta yelled: "_Oh my God_!" At the top of her lungs, and I heard Annaleigh laughing like it was the funniest thing ever. "You _defiled _it with Laura Bell Bundy's CD!" I heard as the brunette continued. "And you put tape over it, what is this? 'Best Vlogger Ever'?"

"I _am _the best vlogger ever!" She declared, referencing to the video blogs, or as the entire Broadway community seems to call it, 'vlogs', that she had made when she was starring in _Legally Blonde_, just like Rachel's co-star Kyle Dean is doing now for _Next To Normal_.

"You _disgust_ me!" Krysta yelled over-dramatically, trying not to laugh. She stormed out of Annaleigh's room – again, over-dramatically – and from her doorframe the blonde yowled:

"You know what? I don't need it! Know why? Over at _RENT _I'm person of the week!"

"You're…person of the week?"

"Yeah!" The girl who played Maureen Johnson bested. "Person of the _week_!"

"I've never been person of the week…" Krysta sniffled.

"Well…'kay."

According to Rachel, at some Broadway shows, the cast and crew do something called 'person of the week', which means that every week one person at random is chosen to be the 'person of the week', and that person get their own poster hanging up in the front of the backstage entrance, and at every different show there is a different tradition that goes along with it. Rachel says that at _Next To Normal_, everyone has to give the person of the week candy. At _RENT_, according to Annaleigh, everyone has to only refer to the person of the week as 'Person Of The Week, Oh Wonderful Great One' instead of his or her actual name.

"What's going on?" Laura asked, emerging from her room, rubbing her eyes.

"Nothing really," I answered. "Krysta got her award stolen, and Annaleigh's person of the week…crazy stuff, I guess." Laura laughed when I said this. "What's so funny?"

"It's just, for us, that's _normal _stuff!" Meghann, Molly and Josie appeared next, everyone heading to the coffee maker in shifts as I just sat back watching, in a strange sort of awe – or uncontrolled fear, I guess.

"Where's Rachel?" I asked when Meg sat back down, coffee in hand. She handed me one, too and I thanked her.

"She had to go in for another reading with Reeve," she answered, to my surprise. "She didn't tell you?"

"No…"

"She probably didn't want to wake you, she had to leave really early." Our co-director of New Directions said, taking a sip of her coffee from her travel-mug. "Speaking of that, I should get going. I've gotta record some demos today, wish me luck!" She got up and Molly yelled after her:

"Have fun, Bella Swan!" And the other girls gabbed after her a mishmash of 'Bella, Bella – have fun with Edward, Bella! Don't get bitten, Bella! Stay away from those vampires and werewolves, Bella!', and things like that.

"Laura?" I asked Puck's girlfriend when she took Meg's place in the chair. "Why do you think Rachel wouldn't tell me where she was going?"

"She left at five this morning, Finn," she answered in her sweet voice, and I looked at the clocked – it was eight-thirty. "She probably didn't want to worry you, or wake you. Don't worry about it."

The three of us – Puck, Blaine and I – came up for Laura's opening night and then stayed for Valentine's Day. Three words: best day ever. I wish I could tell you how much fun we had. Laura was booked for a performance at Joe's Pub, a little bar/dinner place with a little stage that a bunch of Broadway people go to for performance opportunities, so Puck surprised her as her 'musical guest' and jumped up on stage with her. Kurt and Blaine spent pretty much the whole day in Central Park. Rachel and I were out of ideas, so we ended up making a list called 'Cheesy Things To Do In New York On Valentine's Day', and did all of them by midnight. Puck and Blaine went back home, and so did I originally, but Rachel was able to get her hands on an extra _Next To Normal _ticket, so here I am again. But the thing is, she's working – like, _all the time_. How can there ever be any time for _us_? Honestly, I wish she would just ditch these readings and meetings and demo recordings and N2N rehearsals and just…hang out with me. And why can she spend her time hanging out with that _Reeve _guy and not me? Shouldn't she care enough to know that there's more to life then Broadway?

"Do you think she's avoiding me?" I asked Laura.

"_Avoiding _you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Finn, you can't be _serious_!"

"What do you mean?"

"Rachel's a working woman, Finn – unlike you, she doesn't have time to kill playing video games and watching football games."

"The least she could do is text me or something!"

"Finn, you don't understand. They make you turn your phone off and leave your bag outside during workshops, recordings, run-throughs, rehearsals, and all that stuff. I'm sure she would text you if she could, but it's not like she's just sitting around. She's working so she can pay rent just like the rest of us and make a living as a performer. It's not that she _doesn't want _to text you or be with you, she just can't."

"Well, you know what – I think I should be more important to her then some job! Maybe Puck doesn't care that you work all day, but there's more to life then just _working_, isn't there?"

It was dead silent in the room for a second, and then Laura responded:

"On Broadway, working _is _life."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Kurt's POV_

"Why do you think we got called here so early?"

Kate, Janet, Darren, Carly, Jose, Clayton, Karen, Edward and I – the principle cast of _Wonderland _– had all gotten a message from our director really early this morning. It said:

_Principle Cast,_

_Please meet at the Theater this morning, nine-o'clock sharp. Urgent._

The word 'urgent' worried me more than anything.

"I'm sure it's fine," Kate told me. "This happened in _Legally Blonde _once, too. Our director sent us all an urgent message to meet up early in the morning, and you know what he told us? That we'd record a show and air it on _MTV_ – you ever heard on _Broadway MTV Takeovers_? We did one, _Spring Awakening _did one…"

But I had a sinking feeling that this had nothing to do with _MTV_.

"Hey, guys," Greg, our director said, as he walked in with Frank – our composer – and Jack – our book and lyrics writer. "Thanks for coming in."

"What's going on?" Janet, our Alice, demanded, fear in her voice. "Greg…what's going on?"

"Jan…" Darren, aka Jack The White Knight, mumbled and held her hand tightly – it was no secret the two of them were in a serious relationship. Goddess's sea-green eyes locked on one Frank Wildhorn. See, Kate and Frank went _way _back – he gave Kate her first ever stage gig, and then hired her to be in his most prestigious musical ever, _Jekyll & Hyde_. Katie was really young then, so she was in the ensemble, but Frank saw how talented she was and had her understudy for the main role of Lucy. Then a few years later, he created _Jekyll & Hyde: Revived_, which was more than just a regular revival of the show – it was a total reimagining of it, like they're doing with _RENT _now. Guess who Frank hired to play Lucy this time around? That's right – Kate Shindle. After that had a really long run, Kate went around with her Miss America fight AIDS campaign, and when she returned to Broadway had no trouble finding work because of Mr. Frank Wildhorn. It was sort of like a father-son relationship, I thought, but at the same time Kate was the employee and Frank was her boss. It's kind of hard to explain.

"Frank," she said with no show of emotion in her voice at all. "Be honest with me. _Please_."

"Oh, sweetie…" he trailed off, then murmured: "I'm so sorry. I promised you the world with this show, but…Goddess I'm _so _sorry…"

"What?" I questioned, then looked right at my roommate. "Kate…what's going on? Tell me what's going on!" She let a quick look at Frank, looked at the ground, and then straight into my eyes.

"The show's closing, Kurt," she whimpered. "I'm sorry. It's over."

"But…no!" I cried. "So what if we weren't nominated for any Tony Awards…so what if – "

" – Times are hard," Greg rambled. "People just aren't spending their money on show tickets anymore. This is an expensive show, with all the effects and lighting and stage tricks. If there was anything we could do…"

But I stopped listening. _No. No! _It couldn't be over. Not now. Not this way. What would we do now? What would _I _do now? It can't…it can't be over. It can't be _over_…

But, with the '_closing_' notice on the door of the Marquis Theatre, it was.

_Over_.

**Poor Kurt and Kate! Is there another show coming up for them, or are their Broadway dreams dashed forever? And is Finchel…on the rocks? I don't know, you should tune in to find out! Review?**


	27. Say It Now

**This is week was supposed to be hell **_**week **_**for **_**Anything Goes**_**, but due to the sudden snow we've gotten here, it's only going to be hell **_**two days**_** – I guess that's a good thing and a bad thing, but it means I've got more time on my hands for this! And you know what tomorrow is…March 1rst! Natalie and Henry Day! :D "**_**…It's March 1rst, and it's cheeeeeese**_**…" :) My N2N fans out there know what I'm saying! Anyway, don't hate me for this chapter. Please **_**please**_**. And review! Please **_**please**_**? Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_Say it now, say it now – explain to me, why this happens every time. Give me a clue or tell me why – I just can't walk away. Needing, aching, lying awake in a room in my heart. It'll be okay; a heart beat away – yet we're miles apart. You know that love can't live without honesty, but there's danger in the daylight and there's shadows in me. Say it now, I wish I could say it now! Say it to me – the words I need to hear, why you just don't disappear, and why I just can't walk away. Say it now, say it now! Say it to me – the simple words I fear. I know why I'm here – 'cause I just can't walk away. Walk, walk away…walk, walk away._" – Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, _I Just Can't Walk Away (Say It Now)_ from: _Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark_

_Chapter Twenty-Six_

_Rachel's POV_

I had been in that workshop with Reeve for five hours so far, from five-in-the-morning to the time it was now, about ten. It was just the two of us as far as performers go, in a studio with Julie our director, our composers – you are not going to believe me on this one, but I promise you it's true! – Bono and The Edge, from U2, and Glen Berger, the guy who's writing the book with Julie. We stood around the piano and rehearsed some songs, and ran through some lines in our scripts, and even staged some scenes – honestly, it was great. _Next To Normal _wasn't like this when it was first created. It was so character based that we focused mainly on becoming our characters and doing only what they would do, and the actual reading and singing just came in with it. This is different – so many people have played Spider-man and Mary Jane before us. They're so well known that coming into the show, people will know all about them already, even if they've only seen one of the _Spider-Man _movies. This type of rehearsal is more about nailing the songs, nailing the movements, being able to put it all together on a stage, and being in sync with Reeve.

"If you two can't be totally together, totally on the same page, it'll fall," Julie told us, her voice in the background as we staged movements and motions for the first time. "Peter and MJ work because no matter what the other is doing, even if they're on separate ends of the country, they're _together_. They know what the other is doing and fully support that. They don't try to rein each other in – they let each other run wild. They let each other run free. MJ doesn't try to stop Peter from being Spider-man and keeping New York safe, and Peter doesn't try to stop MJ from being an actress and doing what she lives to do. It's not about the other person, really – it's about the love and respect they have for each other that keeps them together no matter what…"

Julie was always going on and on about 'Peter and MJ' this, and 'Peter and MJ' that. I guess I couldn't blame her – they _were _an extraordinary couple after all. They're so different from Natalie and Henry, even though they'll always be crazily perfect. MJ and Peter…they're different, from what the book spells out for Reeve and I. They just _get _each other. They just _know_. Just like how, when Spider-man first saves Mary Jane, she looks at him like she's seen him before, and asks in a dazed sort of voice:

"Wait…who are you?" He looks at her, with his mask still on, and says:

"You know who I am," and as he'll be flying away above the heads of the crowd: "I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-man!"

And even more, in the end of the book when MJ tells Peter she knows he's Spider-man, he asks her:

"How did you know?" And she tells him:

"I just…knew, Peter. When Spider-man saved me…when _you _saved me…I just knew. I _knew_ it was you."

But _how_? _How _did she know? How did she _know_? It makes me think. Would I know Finn, if I had too? Would he know me? I love him, yes, and he loves me. But we're just so…different. We don't let each other run wild like Peter and MJ. I don't want to be Finn's little wife in a little Lima house with a picket fence and an apple tree and a swing set in the yard and four kids at my feet. I just don't _want _that life. I want to be _free_. I want to live for the applause and take Broadway by storm, I want my name on _five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred _Tony Awards, I want girls to see me up on stage and to think 'wow, I want to be just like her', I want to inspire people, I want to make a difference, I want to be remembered…

But that's not what Finn wants. He doesn't _want _to be backstage at all my shows. He wants me to be with him in what he's been told is the best life to have – an suburban, limited one which he's grown up to think is worth the world. He's biased – he's been told by everyone he's ever grown up with 'stay in Lima, stay in Lima. Go to a state college – maybe – and get a job just like the rest of us have in Lima – doing what your father's doing, what his father before him did…' Well, maybe I'm biased, too. I've always wanted to be on Broadway, as long as I could remember. Does that mean I'm judging Finn for wanted _his _dream with me? Is that _really _what his _dream _is? Or is that just what he _thinks _it is? I grew up in Lima, too, remember; I was told exactly what Finn was – to stay in Lima. Everyone in Lima stays in Lima. But I…_didn't_. I got out. I got _out _because my dream was never in Lima. But why should I stop something Finn's always wanted? Should I just give up everything I've ever worked for to help him accomplish _his dream_? Maybe being Finn's little wife in a little Lima house with a picket fence and an apple tree and a swing set in the yard and four kids at my feet wouldn't be so bad. Would it? It's what some people dream of. Like I dreamed of Broadway.

Like I _do dream _of Broadway.

_No_ – _no_, God, _no_! I won't do it. I can't. I _can't_. I can't throw everything I've ever worked for out the widow just because there's a Tony Award with my name on it now. That's only one out of the future five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred, you know! And if all those Awards are going to happen, Reeve and I better work pretty hard today. I checked my phone for the first time since five that morning, and found four texts and three missed calls from Finn. The texts looked like this:

_Rach, what are you doing? Where the hell did you go? You just left with out telling me!_

_Ok, it's been an hour. Why aren't you back yet?_

_What is going on with you? _

_I can't take this anymore Rach. I can't have our relationship be like this. No more._

I locked my IPhone without responding to anything.

Why couldn't we be like Puck and Laura? They were so much less complicated then us. Puck didn't have a problem with Laura's work – hell, he's so, _so _proud of her. Is Finn proud of me? Does he even think I'm _good_? If he does, he has a funny way of showing it. I can't tell _what _he thinks of what I do anymore. I feel like I don't even _know _him anymore.

"You're doing great," said Reeve, taking a slug of his water bottle. "I just…I'm really glad you got this part, Rachel. I'm really glad I get to work with you."

"You know something, Reeve?" I responded. "I'm really glad I get to work with _you_, too. You…you really _know _me, Reeve, you have since pretty much that day I met you." He laughed and said:

"It's not just me that knows you, Rach, you know me, too. You know what I'm thinking. You know how I feel."

"I…"

"Excuse me, Reeve," said Julie, coming over to us. "But could I talk to Rachel for a second."

"Sure," he said, and looked at me for a final second before walking away.

"Hey Julie," I said to her. "So, I think we're doing pretty well so far, I mean – I know it's my first real workshop and you probably have so many different ideas and all, but – "

"Rachel, Rachel, slow down, sweetie!" She bayed. "I was going to tell you how clear it is that we chose the right Mary Jane Watson."

"You…were?" I gasped. Julie Taymore – _the _Julie Taymore! – was telling me I was…_good_?

"Of course I was!" She said, almost laughing a little. "Honey, you're _great_. You and Reeve, you both are. You're great _together_, ya' know – anyway, keep it up; the whole workshop's going great, right on target."

"Wow, thank you…but, Julie, can I ask you something?" I blurted.

"Sure, honey, anything."

"Why…did you choose _me_? When Reeve came up to me that day…why did you want _me_? I'm nothing special. I'm no Alice Ripley. I'm no Sutton Foster. I'm no Lea Michele. Don't you want your female lead to be a _star_?"

"That's the point, sweetheart," Julie sang. "You're with _me_ now, Rachel. By the time you step on stage at the Foxwoods on opening night, you'll _be _a star. You're not very far off, you know. You've got a Tony for crying out loud! Rachel, listen to me. You're _not _nothing special. Maybe you just see yourself that way. I promise you – you stick with me, honey, and you'll _be _a _star_."

I had never felt so good about anything in my entire life. No one had ever said anything to me like that before. A _star_? Was I? Could I be? I don't know, but…in that moment, I had never trusted anyone so much in my life. This show would be _great_. It'd be a _hit _– a _huge hit_. Was there ever any doubt it wouldn't be? No! In that moment, I had complete and total faith in two people: Reeve Carney and Julie Taymore. And…she said it. She said it herself.

I'd _be_ a _star_.

"What was that about?" Reeve asked when he walked back over to me.

"Oh, nothing really," I said, my smile still huge and totally unhidden on my face. "Just, you know, chatting with Julie _freakin' _Taymore!" Reeve laughed and saw my phone, still in my hand, vibrate with another text from Finn. He opened the conversation and read all the texts before I could react.

"You know," he started. "He shouldn't treat you like this. Look, I know you love the guy and all that…but he doesn't _know _you, Rach. He doesn't know how important this is to you. He doesn't _get _it, and even so – he shouldn't treat you like this. These texts…it's like he feels like he can mandate you. You shouldn't have to put up with that. You should have to put up with some guy not understanding how hard you work, and just wanted you to be his little girlfriend. I know it's not my place but…you just shouldn't have to put up with that _shit_."

He handed me the phone back and stalked away while I read what Finn's most recent text said. It read exactly these elven words:

_If you have something to say to me, say it now._

**Review?**


	28. It's DeLovely

**I'm so sad my high school production of **_**Anything Goes **_**is over now. Yesterday was our last show. It's so bittersweet because this was my first high school musical, but I don't want it to be over – what the heck am I going to do with myself now? Anyway, please review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"_The night is young, the skies are clear, so if you want to go walking, dear, it's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely. I understand the reason why you're sentimental, 'cause so am I – it's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely. You can tell at a glance what a swell night this is for romance, you can hear dear Mother Nature murmuring low: 'Let yourself go!' So please be sweet, my chickadee, and when I kiss you, just say to me, 'It's delightful, it's delicious, it's delectable, it's delirious, it's dilemma, it's delimit, it's deluxe, it's de-lovely!'_…" – _It's De-Lovely _from the musical _Anything Goes_

_Chapter Twenty-Seven_

_Blaine's POV_

Okay, I'm starting to get concerned. Kurt has been giving me short-answer texts for the past few days. He won't tell me what's wrong, but I _know _something is. I want to talk to him about it, but he won't have it. I'm thinking I should just let him talk when he's ready, but I just want him to know I'm there for him…

"God, I love you…" Puck nearly sang into the phone, Laura's distinct giggle on the other end. "Sing it again, baby."

"Again?" She laughed.

"Again, sing it again!" The mohawked boy exclaimed, excited as a little boy at the circus. "Please, _please_ sing it again!"

"Okay, okay, I'll sing it again!" Laura laughed one more time and started the song from _South Pacific _all over again:

"_I expect everyone of my crowd to make fun_

_Of my proud protestations of faith in romance,_

_And they'll say I'm naïve as a babe to believe_

_Every fable I hear from a person in pants._

_Fearlessly, I'll face them and argue their doubts away,_

_Loudly, I'll sing about flowers in spring,_

_Flatly, I'll stand on my little flat feet and say:_

'_Love is a grand and a beautiful thing!'_

_I'm not ashamed to reveal_

_The world famous feeling _

_I feel…_"

"Puck," said Mr. Schue, walking into the choir room as the rest of the New Directions entered. "C'mon, put the phone away, you know the school's rule…"

"But it's _Laura_, Mr. Schue!" Puck protested. "And she's singing, like, the best song ever!"

"Hi Laura!" I yelled extra-loudly, leaning in closer to Puck. He put the phone on speaker and we all heard Laura say back:

"Hey guys!"

"What's this I here about 'the best song ever', Ossy?" I asked into Puck's phone, and Laura responded:

"Well, I don't know if _A Wonderful Guy _is 'the best song ever'…"

"Anything _you _sing is the best song ever," Puck prompted. "Sing it for them!"

"You sure?"

"_Yes_!" A bunch of New Directions, plus Mr. Schue answered.

"Well, alright," the Broadway star answered, and started the song from the beginning:

"_I expect everyone of my crowd to make fun_

_Of my proud protestations of faith in romance,_

_And they'll say I'm naïve as a babe to believe_

_Every fable I hear from a person in pants._

_Fearlessly I'll face them and argue their doubts away,_

_Loudly I'll sing about flowers in spring,_

_Flatly I'll stand on my little flat feet and say_

_Love is a grand and a beautiful thing!_

_I'm not ashamed to reveal_

_The world famous feeling _

_I feel._

_I'm as corny as Kansas in August,_

_I'm as normal as blueberry pie._

_No more a smart little girl with no heart,_

_I have found me a wonderful guy!_

_I am in a conventional dither,_

_With a conventional star in my eye._

_And you will note there's a lump in my throat_

_When I speak of that wonderful guy!_

_I'm as trite and as gay as a daisy in May,_

_A cliché comin' true!_

_I'm bromidic and bright_

_As a moon-happy night_

_Pourin' light on the dew!_

_I'm as corny as Kansas in August,_

_High as a flag on the Fourth of July!_

_If you'll excuse an expression I use,_

_I'm in love, I'm in love,_

_I'm in love, I'm in love,_

_I'm in love with a wonderful guy!_

_I'm as trite and as gay as a daisy in May,_

_A cliché comin' true!_

_I'm bromidic and bright_

_As a moon-happy night_

_Pourin' light on the dew!_

_I'm as corny as Kansas in August,_

_High as a flag on the Fourth of July!_

_If you'll excuse an expression I use,_

_I'm in love,_

_I'm in love,_

_I'm in love,_

_I'm in love,_

_I'm in love,_

_I'm in love with a wonderful guy!_"

The New Directions all applauded and then Santana quickly quipped:

"So, um, question for you – girly, are you a real-life Disney Princess? Seriously. You sound like one."

"You're very funny, Santana…" Laura responded.

"But really! Are you sure you're not the voice of Sleeping Beauty or somethin'?"

"So," Laura continued, ignoring Santana. "Is Meg back to Lima yet? She got on a flight this morning..."

"She said she'd be here soon," Mr. Schue answered, and Rory sat up a bit straighter. "But anyway – we've got other matters to talk about before Meghann gets here. First," he strode over to the white board as Puck hung up his phone with a 'love you, bye' to Laura. In purple marker, Mr. Schue wrote:

_McKinley High 2012 Musical_

"Oh, c'mon, Mr. Schue," Quinn started. "Not another _Rocky Horror_…"

"Actually, this doesn't have anything to do with glee club," the once Spanish teacher, now history teacher, stated. "I just thought some of you would be interested. You guys know Ms. Corcoran, right? She's directing it this year."

"What show is it, Mr. Schuster?" I asked eagerly. Not only would a musical be so much fun to be in, but think of how proud Kurt would be of me if I got a principle role! I mean, probably not, because I'm just a junior, but hey – a guy can dream, can't he?

"_Anything Goes_," he answered. "Auditions are in a few days and the information packets are in the main office if any of you are interested."

_Yes_! Oh my God – _Anything Goes_! The main male role, Billy Crocker, is _perfect _for me – I've got the exact vocal type and…oh wow, I can't wait for this! Puck, who must've had the same idea of me, mouthed '_yes!_' exactly like I did. He couldn't stop thinking of how impressed Laura would be if he got the main part in the exact show that she had just left for _Bonnie & Clyde_. She played Hope, Puck knew, so if he got Billy, Hope's love interest, that'd be perfect… Then I looked over at Finn who looked, well…uninterested.

"And Ms. Corcoran's subbing for Ms. Hunter's English class today, so if you want to talk to her, she'll be in room 108. Now, second – Nationals are in New York again, guys – and this time, we're _going _to win. No question." Just then, the bell rang to signal the start of our next class. "Have a good rest of your days! Meghann will be here tomorrow and we'll start a new assignment!"

Puck and I raced to room 108.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Kurt's POV_

I hadn't gotten out of bed in what felt like days. I starred at the cracked-open door and listened to the drone of Kate's voice, which was constantly on the phone. I don't know whom she was talking too, and right now, I didn't care. I felt like I didn't care about _anything _right now. I just wanted to curl up in a little ball and stay there forever. I felt terrible for not returning Blaine's texts, but I felt like I had no energy. Sick - I felt physically sick. If I even picked up my phone, it weighed five-million pounds. I wanted to cry, but couldn't. This had all been a dream, part of me was saying, and soon I'll just wake up in Lima, Ohio...

"Yes," said Kate's voice in another room – I heard her pacing back and forth, too. "Yes, that's right. No – no I haven't…yes, that's correct. Right. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, I'll tell him – all right, yes – I'll call her. Yes. Thank you!" I heard Goddess hang up her phone and run now; she opened my door wide and jumped onto the bed I was lying in. "Get out of bed! Get out of bed _right now_!" She nearly sang, jumping up and down on the bed.

"Why? What's the point?"

"The point is, my dear Kurtsie-poo, Sutton Foster is leaving _Anything Goes _on the eleventh."

"Oh, poor Sutton," I deadpanned. "Off to go get consumed by the world of television, and spread her awesome talent for everyone to see. What's the big deal? I mean, I know you love the girl, but it's just another case like Lea Michele's – "

" – _Kurt_!" Kate yelled over my ramblings. "The point is, not only are they looking for a new Moonface Martin to replace Joel Grey, they're looking for a new Reno Sweeney."

"So what does that – ?"

_Oh_.

"Goddess, be honest with me. Are you telling me they want _us_ for Reno and Moonie?"

Kate nodded.

"But there's a catch," she said. "They need a new Hope now that Laura's in _Bonnie & Clyde_."

"And…?"

"And," Kate started. "We've got to get to Nashville. We're rescuing Laura Bell Bundy."

"Well then," I blinked, taking it all in. "Isn't that _de-lovely_."

Although, I felt more _delirious _than _de-lovely _in that moment.

**Review?**


	29. If I'm Not In The Chapel

**I'm in love with writing this story, but the lack of reviews concerns me. Please, **_**please**_** review, guys! Thanks and enjoy.**

"_If I'm not in the chapel, I'll be holding up the bar_." – Reno Sweeney, _Anything Goes_

_Chapter Twenty-Eight_

_Blaine's POV_

The beautiful, freshly-printed papers in my hand read as such:

_McKinley High 2012 Musical_

_Anything Goes_

_Written by: Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse_

_Music and Lyrics by: Cole Porter_

On the next page, there was a note from Ms. Corcoran that looked like this:

Auditions for _Anything Goes _will take place after school today, in the auditorium. Come prepared to sing with Brad, our accompanist. Please prepare at least thirty-two bars of a musical theater song of your choice with sheet music. There will be sheet music provided for the songs listed below only.

Boys: _It's De-Lovely_ or _Be Like The Bluebird_

Girls: _I Get A Kick Out Of You_ or _Heaven Hop_

The staring parts are as follows:

Billy Crocker – male lead

Reno Sweeney – female lead

Moonface Martin – male supporting

Hope Harcourt – female supporting

Sir Evelyn Oakleigh – male supporting

Mrs. Harcourt – female principle

Bonnie – female principle

Elisha J. Whitney – male principle

Thank you. I hope to see you all this afternoon!

Ms. Corcoran

There was only one thought on my mind: Billy was mine.

Santana stepped out of the main office a few minutes after I did. She had the copies of the same papers in her hand. It all was starting to fit together, finally – she had cheerleading, she had Brittany, and now she could be Reno Sweeney. It's not like Rachel could try out or anything – so who could stand in her way? The female lead was finally in the bag –

"Oh!" A much-too-peppy voice howled. "I see you've got an audition packet, too." Santana looked up to see a girl with long dark hair and big blue eyes, and too much personality. She was like Rachel on steroids. "Hi," she exclaimed, putting her hand out – Santana shook it but was still in some type of shock. "I'm Harmony, I just transferred here. Are you auditioning too?"

"As a matter of fact," Santana narrowed her dark eyes. "I _am_. For Reno Sweeney. The female lead. Because I'm a _senior _and _seniors get leads_. Got it?"

"Oh, I got it. I'm only a sophomore and I'm already better then you. I can just _tell_ by the way you try to falsely intimidate me. And by the way," she continued. "Reno Sweeney is _mine_. I've been acting since I was a fetus, and she's been my dream role since the age of five. So – sorry, _senior_, but this _sophomore _is _getting the lead_."

"Well," Santana mewed as coldly as she could. "We'll just _see _about that."

At the end of the day, Puck paced back and forth outside the auditorium with his phone to his ear.

"Don't be nervous, _please _don't be nervous!" Laura told him. "It's like you told me – it's just pre-game jitters. Have you studied your sheet music?"

"Yeah, like a zillion times, but – "

" – But _nothing_!" She interrupted over the phone. "You're going to march yourself into that auditorium and you're going to _wow _them. Know why?"

"Why?" Puck asked honestly.

"Because you are my _amazing_ and _talented _and _beautiful _boyfriend, Noah Puckerman, and you can do anything!"

"Including score the male lead?"

"I just said _anything_, didn't I?"

As Puck hung up his phone and started to open the auditorium door, he saw Finn walking his way.

"Hey," the boy with the mohawk said. "Aren't you coming?"

"Oh, I…um…" he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"C'mon, _you _can't be _scared _can ya'?"

"It's not that," Finn countered. "It's just…I already sighed up for…stage crew."

"Stage crew?" Puck echoed. "Well, that's great. But why?"

"I don't know," the football player shrugged. "I just feel like it's my place."

"Well, alright then – wish me luck."

"Good luck," Finn added weakly as Puck closed the door behind him.

The auditorium was packed. Inside, Puck could make out the faces of Brittany, Santana, Sugar, Artie, Tina, Sam, Rory and Quinn. There were some drama club kids there, and some students that Puck had never seen before in his life. Did they even _go _to this school? There was one sophomore who was leaning on the stage, speaking rather loudly to Ms. Corcoran about '_her _blocking'. And then, when I walked into the auditorium too, Laura's boyfriend could tell that we both had exactly the same thing in mind: Billy Crocker.

"Alright, everyone, sit down!" Shelby Corcoran addressed the crowd of hopefuls. "First of all – thanks for your time, everyone! We all know there's no time to waste – so let's get to the auditions. One by one, please. Alright," she looked to Brad, who nodded. "Ready when you are!"

"My name is Quinn Fabray," Quinn stated, stepping onto the stage. "I'm auditioning for the part of Hope Harcourt, and I'll be singing _Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye_."

"Very good, Quinn," Shelby said, and Brad started to play as the blonde sung the shorter version of the song:

"_Goodbye, little dream, goodbye, _

_You made my romance sublime, _

_Now it's time to fly, _

_For the stars have fled from heavens, _

_The moon's deserted the hill, _

_And the sultry breeze that sang in the trees _

_Is suddenly strangely still. _

_It's done little dream it's done, _

_So bid me a fond farewell, _

_We both had our fun. _

_Was it Romeo or Juliet who said – _

_When about to die: _

'_Love is not all peaches and cream', _

_Little dream, goodbye!_"

The next one up was Santana, who proudly stood and declared:

"I'm Santana Lopez, I'm auditioning for Reno Sweeney, and I'll be singing _I Get A Kick Out Of You_." Then she sang:

"_My story is much too sad to be told,_

_But practically everything_

_Leaves me totally cold._

_The only exception I know is the case,_

_When I'm out on a quiet spree,_

_Fighting vainly the old ennui_

_And I suddenly turn and see,_

_Your fabulous face._

_I get no kick from Champagne –_

_Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all,_

_So tell me why should it be true – _

_That I get a kick_

_Out of you?_

_Some get a kick from cocaine – _

_I'm sure that if I took even one sniff,_

_That would bore me terrifically too!_

_Yet I get a kick out of you._

_I get a kick _

_Every time I see you standing there, before me – _

_I get a kick though its clear to me, you obviously don't _

_Adore me._

_I get no kick in a plane_

_Flying too high, _

_With some guy in the sky – _

_Is my idea of nothing to do._

_Yet I get a kick –_

_Out of you!_"

"That was great, Santana," Shelby said, and scribbled down some notes. The Latina girl then pulled her girlfriend up on stage after her.

"I'm Brittany. And um, I'm auditioning for Bonnie, 'cause Santana says she's a lot like me! Oh yeah – I'm singing _Heaven Hop_." And she sang:

"_Up in heaven's happy portals,_

_Where the parties never stop – _

_All the debonair immortals_

_Do a dance called the heaven hop._

_In that big celestial center, it's the only dance they do;_

_So before you try to enter – you better start doin' it too!_

_Spread your wings and start them flappin',_

_Lift your feet and set them tappin',_

_Start right now and do the heaven hop, hop, the heaven hop!_

_Wag your ankles _

_To that meter! _

_Let your shoulders _

_Gently teeter!_

_If you want to please Saint Peter – take up the heaven hop!_..."

Brittany continued the song until it's end, and auditions continued on in the same fashion. Sugar auditioned Bonnie, like Brittany did, but with the song _Let's Step Out_. Only one other girl, Harmony, dared to go for Reno Sweeney, singing _Take Me Back To Manhattan_. Sam tried out for Elisha J. Whitney, and so did Rory. Artie and some other drama club kids tried for Moonface Martin, and Tina and some other drama girls tried for Hope like Quinn did. Finally, it got down to Puck and I.

"I'm Blaine Anderson," I spoke as calmly as I could. "I'm auditioning for Billy Crocker, and I'm singing _It's De-Lovely_." And I sang:

"_The night is young, the skies are clear _

_So if you want to go walking, dear, _

_It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely. _

_I understand the reason why _

_You're sentimental, 'cause so am I, _

_It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely. _

_You can tell at a glance _

_What a swell night this is for romance, _

_You can hear dear Mother Nature _

_Murmuring low: _

'_Let yourself go!' _

_So please be sweet, my chickadee, _

_And when I kiss you, just say to me, _

'_It's delightful, it's delicious, _

_It's delectable, it's delirious, _

_It's dilemma, it's delimit, it's deluxe, _

_It's de-lovely'!_..."

I finished the male part of the duet and felt good about it. Right when I finished, Puck got up on stage and stated:

"I'm Noah Puckerman, I'm auditioning for Billy Crocker, and I'll be singing _All Through The Night_." Finally, he sang:

"_All through the night I delight in your love. _

_All through the night you're so close to me. _

_All through the night from a height far above, _

_You and your love bring me ecstasy. _

_When dawn comes to waken me, _

_You're never there at all, _

_I know you've forsaken me _

_Till the shadows fall, _

_But then once again I can dream I've the right _

_To be close to you all through the night…_"

And the next day, not including the random drama club kids, the cast list looked like this:

_Anything Goes _Cast:

_Leads_:

Billy Crocker – Noah Puckerman

Reno Sweeney – Santana Lopez

_Supporting_:

Moonface Martin – Artie Abrams

Hope Harcourt – Quinn Fabray

Sir Evelyn Oakleigh – Blaine Anderson

_Principles_:

Mrs. Harcourt – Tina Cohen-Chang

Bonnie – Harmony Porter

Elisha J. Whitney – Sam Evans

_Dancers/Ensemble_:

Brittany S. Peirce, Sugar Motta, Mike Chang, Rory Flanagan

**Review?**


	30. Squinted

**Thanks for all the great reviews and support last time around, guys! :) Sorry this is late; I've had **_**so **_**much homework. So, while I continue to sort out the current Finchel storyline in my head, here's a Paura chapter! :) Thanks and enjoy.**

_Chapter Twenty-Nine_

_Rachel's POV_

I stayed up much later then I wanted too some nights, reading the copy of the script Julie okay-ed recently over and over and over and _over _again. Everyone else in the apartment was asleep, so it seemed, but one room still gave off light from behind a closed door. Laura paced back and forth in her room, being as silent as she could, as she did not want to wake anyone up. It was late, and earlier that day Laura had gotten a happy call from her boyfriend; Puck told her how he got the male lead in _Anything Goes _and it was all because of her, and Laura promised to fly down for opening night to see him. She was so happy she had Puck. Maybe their relationship wasn't perfect – there was the distance thing, the 'being-in-totally-different-places-in-life' thing, and of course the 'living in different worlds' thing, but she was so happy she had him at this moment. Maybe they weren't true love or a fairy tale or anything hugely romantic – but God, she was so happy he had him.

But it wasn't Puck that kept her awake and pacing, it was someone else entirely. Laura had spent hours and hours simply sitting in front of her laptop, looking at pictures of Bonnie Parker. Right now, the laptop was closed and plugged into it's charger, and the biography she'd just finished – that, marking the fourth she's read on Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow – lay shut on her still-made, not-yet-slept-in bed. Laura didn't even know _why _she was so desperate to see Bonnie's face – _Bonnie & Clyde _was already opened, playing to audiences that gave them standing ovations every single night. The reviews, speaking in terms of critics anyway, were mixed – some great, some good, some neutral, and some just plain mean. But why did that matter? Like she'd just been over, they were playing to raving audiences every night, to people going to see her and Jeremy at the stage door asking "when is the album coming out?" and "where can I get more tickets, right now?". Not only that, but they were saying "you were _so _great" and "I _loved _the show", and all that jazz. So why did she need to see Bonnie? Why did she need to read the fourth biography? Why was she _pacing_?

It has to be nothing, Laura told herself, still, however, pacing. And maybe it was nothing, but still…Laura felt somewhere inside her a dark, shattering feeling – perhaps a premonition of sorts, or perhaps nothing real at all – that something bad was going to happen, and fast. She sat herself down, cross-legged on her bed, opening her computer back up again. The pictures she'd saved of Bonnie were up in an instant, as if she'd opened the file without even thinking to do it first. God, she was pretty. With her perfectly-set face, even nose, big blue eyes, red curly hair, and red lips, Bonnie Parker looked like an angel to Laura Osnes. It didn't even matter that she and her lover, Clyde Barrow, were "cold-blooded killers" – she was gorgeous, and not only that, but according to their musical she was so much more than the "gun-wielding moll" that the 1930s news headlines proclaimed her as. According to _Bonnie & Clyde_, all the documentaries Laura's seen, the movie with the same title as their musical, and all four biographies, Bonnie _was _so much more – she was smart; brought home all As in school. She was talented; wanted to be a singer, dancer, and actress…so much like Laura herself. She was ambitious; wanted nothing more than to get out of West Dallas, the small town in Texas she stayed in, dirt poor due to the Great Depression around her.

But Laura knew that already. She _knew _Bonnie was gorgeous. She _knew _Bonnie was smart, talented, and ambitious…so why did it matter now? Laura closed her computer once again and got up, positioning herself in front of her mirror. Just like Bonnie somehow knew death was near soon before she and Clyde got "shot-up" by the police in 1934, Laura just…_knew _something bad was going to happen. Not physically, though – she wasn't afraid she would fall down a flight of stairs and break her leg, or get mugged in a back alley at night or anything. No, it wasn't like that – it was just…something. It was tugging at her; she could almost see it. _Bonnie & Clyde _had hardly been open a month – maybe this feeling was premature. Maybe this feeling wasn't a _feeling _at all…

She knew Puck was asleep, but still she wanted to contact him somehow. He just made her feel…better. All around, _better_. Not that there was anything she needed to feel better about or anything. But still, Laura thought, it would be nice to send him a text. She figured he would get it when he woke up in the morning, and it really wouldn't matter if she sent one now, but regardless – she texted him a simple:

_I love you. I miss you._

She looked at the last picture in the _Bonnie Parker _file on her computer quickly, and saw Bonnie in the dress they called the 'Chevron Dress' – it's a deep, dark red with tan and black tri-angels down the neckline and sleeves. The costume department designed one for Laura exactly like Bonnie's, to make it seem real. Well, she was real, after all – a lot of people thought Bonnie and Clyde were folktale heroes, but no – they were real. They lived and breathed and missed each other and loved each other. This one picture of her, though, Laura kept on seeing and couldn't forget about. She stood there, turned to the side a bit, with one hand on her hip. She looked straight-on to the camera, though, her lips drawn together, and her eyes squinted. Bonnie's eyes were _always _squinted, no matter what picture of hers you saw. Her eyebrows were furrowed as if someone had just told her something, and she couldn't fathom it quite yet. Suddenly Laura wondered if the part of their musical where Bonnie somehow just _knows _that the end is near is the truth. She wondered if this girl, this twenty-three year old girl, had just known that she would die soon. How? Had someone told her? Who could tell her that? Maybe no one told her. Maybe it was a feeling she got. Or maybe it wasn't a _feeling _at all…

Laura flopped onto her bed, facedown. She just felt so…drained, all of a sudden, like a wave was throwing her down. It was late anyway, she figured, and shut off the light.

**Review?**


	31. Change

**I know I haven't updated in a while, but it's because I've had so much homework lately. Also, please don't think this story's almost over – it's **_**far **_**from it. Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_Hurry, hurry – going fast. Watch the fool as he heads for the exit. He sees what she has to have, and he cannot compete. See the girl who shines so high – see the man who learned to cry. Right here – on Lexington and 52__nd__ street._" – _On Lexington And 52__nd__ Street_ from: _SMASH _

_Chapter Thirty_

_Rachel's POV_

The only occasional problem I have with _SMASH _is that it makes it all look so much easier than it really is.

Karen Cartwright, the main character of the show, is a girl from Iowa who is, as they call her, "green" – meaning she hasn't been in any form of a Broadway show or workshop or anything. However, she's considered for a female lead in a brand new musical, produced by an "amazing" producer, a "world-renown" director, and with lyrics and music by characters played by Debra Messing and Christian Borle. Case and point – in real life, Karen wouldn't even get two glances from any of these people, yet everyone watching the show still cheers for her and wants the best for her. Why? Because she's adorable, and we all love her. She has a cute little apartment and is totally fine with being put in the chorus once she looses out the competition for the lead. On top of that, she has a loving, handsome boyfriend who loves her and supports her, and maybe gets upset once and a while at her schedule but it really doesn't matter in the end, because they love each other.

Damn you, Karen Cartwright. You make it look so easy.

That night, I had a dream. I was on Broadway, but it was different – it was the Golden Age. The 1950s. The middle of the Golden Age – where everything every Broadway performer touched turned to gold. It was the rise of Sondheim, the rise of Porter, the rise of everything that today we consider played-out revivals. It was so real. It was so _beautiful_. Wow – I'd never seen Times Square like I did in this dream. It wasn't just a hue of people rushing around – every man stopped to tip his hat to a lady instead of pushing in front of her to make the Subway; where there would be a bunch of drunk hobos singing loudly off-key, there was a group of men smoking big cigars; people dressed nicely to go the theater, and when I say nicely, I mean tuxes of long fancy dresses and fancy hats. There were billboards all up in lights for the 'New Musical's _Anything Goes_, _Funny Girl_, _The Sound Of Music_, and _South Pacific_.

Wow – what it would be to be a performer in Broadway's hay-day…

Laura always loved revivals. She looked at them like a writer would look at classic novels – why do we read the classics? To write our own! – I could just hear her Disney princess voice saying now: "Why do we look to revivals? To create our own!" I never totally got what she meant until this dream hit me. God, Broadway was _beautiful_! It wasn't just one of many New York things to do, it was the center of the City. It didn't just fuel the fires in the hearts of it's performers – it gave everyone here some kind of hope for their dreams. There's more proof for my theory – Broadway isn't just a place. It's a feeling. It's a state of mind. It's an emotion. It's intangible.

At 1:21 in the morning, I woke up with a start, and I knew. I knew what had to happen, what I had to do. It was inevitable – _change_, that is. I couldn't put it off any longer. I couldn't live in this limbo, unmoving period any longer. Change. _Change_. It was time for _change_. It was time for movement. Goodbyes – goodbyes would have to be said. Since there was zero chance of me falling back asleep now, I got up out of bed and walked on my toes over to where I kept my Tony. I picked up the statue, held it in my hand and moved it over in my palm a bunch of times, and then finally read the inscription.

_Rachel Barbra Berry_

_Best Supporting Actress In A Musical_

_Natalie Goodman – Next To Normal_

_2011-2012_

_63rd Annual Tony Awards_

I thought the words over in my head too many times before I could actually say them aloud. I mean, how could I? Natalie was all I've ever been working towards. Being her. Perfecting her. _Her_. And now…I had to say it. I couldn't put it off any longer.

"Goodbye, Natalie. Thank you, I love you, goodbye."

_Change_.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Blaine's POV_

I had just finished rehearsing choreography for _Let's Misbehave _with Santana, and we had just found seats in the auditorium when Ms. Corcoran called Puck and Quinn to the stage for _All Through The Night_. This number takes place in Act Two, after Billy is thrown in the brig, and it's a split scene, with one spotlight on Billy on one side of the stage, and one spotlight on Hope on the opposite side. Puck sat on the prop-bench – which, right now, was just a box turned upside-down – with Artie, playing Moonface, next to him. Artie started it off with the line:

"I've been in a lot of tough hoosegows, ya' know, but down in Fayettesville, Arkansas they've got just about as nice a little jail as I ever saw! If we're going to get shipped off somewhere, it outta be there!"

"_Please_, Doc!" Puck responded with Billy's line.

"I was just trying to keep your mind on something pleasant," Artie continued with the comedic part of his line. "I knew you were thinking about _her_."

"She's _all_ I've been thinking about!" Puck said his next line. "Day and night. I even dream about her." Then, he sang:

"_All through the night I delight in your love. _

_All through the night you're so close to me. _

_All through the night from a height far above, _

_You and your love bring me ecstasy. _

_When dawn comes to waken me, _

_You're never there at all, _

_I know you've forsaken me _

_Till the shadows fall, _

_But then once again I can dream I've the right _

_To be close to you all through the night._"

Then, on the other side of the stage, Quinn appeared in a spotlight and sang:

"_All through the night I delight in your love. _

_All through the night you're so close to me. _

_All through the night from a height far above, _

_You and your love bring me ecstasy. _

_When dawn comes to waken me, _

_You're never there at all, _

_I know you've forsaken me _

_Till the shadows fall, _

_And then once again I can dream I've the right_ – "

Together, they sang:

"_Staying close to you – _

_ Close to you – _

_ All through the night._"

"That was beautiful!" Shelby commented near Santana and I, who were clapping. "Okay guys, take a break for a few minutes." Once Ms. Corcoran said this, I tried to call Kurt, but it went straight to voicemail. Huh. Why would his phone be turned off now? Oh, well, he's probably auditioning. I'll try him back later.

"That was, um," Quinn started to Puck, as they walked off stage. "Really good. I mean – uh, you're really good."

"Oh," Puck chocked out. "Thanks. You too." Then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. "Hang on a sec," he told Quinn, and took Laura's call. Quinn walked off, however, looking totally defeated.

As we actors took our break happily, Shelby went upstairs to the lighting booth to talk to the spotlighters – Finn, and a girl named Jane.

"Finn? Jane?" She called, and they appeared where she could see them. "That was great work. Come down here and take a break, if you want."

"Sure, thanks," Finn answered, and they clomped down the stairs.

"You know, Finn," Jane started once they were down on the ground with the rest of us. "It's great you volunteered to do this. I mean…with me." Finn, oblivious, responded:

"Cool." And his phone, too, started vibrating. "Hang on, it's my girlfriend." Jane opened her mouth to respond to that but closed it again, swiftly, looking as defeated as Quinn had.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **

_Rachel's POV_

I couldn't tell you the duration of the phone conversation. Really, I couldn't. I don't remember it. I don't know how it started, at least. The earliest part of it I remember was this:

"_Spider-man _got picked up," I told Finn somewhere during the conversation.

"That's, uh…Rach, that's great."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"Rachel – "

"Don't. Finn, don't…don't make this harder than it already is."

"But – "

" – Finn…"

I took a deep breath, and I said it.

"Goodbye, Finn. Thank you, I love you, goodbye."

_Change_, I told myself as I hung up the phone, tears spiraling down my face.

_Change, change, change._

__**Review please?**


	32. Enter Jane Eli

**So guess what? I'm on April Break now! :D I'm introducing some new characters in this chapter. Jane Eli, my OC, who's named after Jane Eyre – we're reading the book in English, ugh don't even get me started – and Laura Bell Bundy, who's a real Broadway actress. She was in **_**Legally Blonde: The Musical! **_**with Kate Shindle, but is now a country singer in Nashville. Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_And I have turned my whole world upside-down trying not to let you go – watching you walk away was like a fatal blow…_" – _Legally Blonde: The Musical_

_Chapter Thirty-One_

_Kurt's POV_

"Um…Kate? Are you sure this is _really _the best idea?"

You're really not going to believe what I'm going to tell you right now – but it's true. Kate and I hopped on a flight to Nashville, Tennessee – and, well…that was the easy part – and now, here we are, at a genuine country line-dancing bar. The place was complete with a mechanical bull, tons of people in cowboy hats and big boots, and way too many drunken laughs; I wasn't sure if Kate's rescue mission was a good idea or a total bust anymore. There was a small, wooden stage with a single microphone in the front of the place, and a bearded man with a white ten-gallon hat on sauntered on to it, and yowled into the mic:

"Ladies and gent-ie-men!" He hooted. "Please welcome – our very own star, Miss Laura Bell Bundy!"

There she was, Laura Bell Bundy, our fallen Broadway star. I remembered seeing her face a lot when she played Elle Woods in _Legally Blonde: The Musical_ – now her face looked just the same, but she was so…un-Elle-ish, just as country as the rest of the people in the bar.

"Howdy, y'all!" She wailed once at the microphone. "How y'all doin' tonight? Imma' be singin' a favorite a' yours – y'all just listen up!" She cued the music and yelled: "Here we go!" Before singing:

"_Well, I ain't never been the Barbie doll type_

_No, I can't swig that sweet Champagne, I'd rather drink beer all night_

_In a tavern or in a honky tonk or on a four-wheel drive tailgate_

_I've got posters on my wall of Skynyrd, Kid and Strait_

_Some people look down on me, but I don't give a rip_

_I'll stand barefooted in my own front yard with a baby on my hip_

_'Cause I'm a redneck woman_

_I ain't no high class broad!_

_I'm just a product of my raising_

_I say, 'hey ya'll' and 'yee-haw'_

_And I keep my Christmas lights on_

_On my front porch all year long,_

_And I know all the words to every Charlie Daniels song_

_So here's to all my sisters out there keeping it country_

_Let me get a big 'hell yeah' from the redneck girls like me, _

_Hell yeah!_

_Victoria's Secret, well their stuff's real nice_

_But I can buy the same damn thing on a Wal-Mart shelf half price_

_And still look sexy, just as sexy as those models on TV_

_No, I don't need no designer tag to make my man want me_

_Well, you might think I'm trashy, a little too hardcore_

_But in my neck of the woods I'm just the girl next door_

_I'm a redneck woman_

_I ain't no high class broad!_

_I'm just a product of my raising_

_I say, 'hey y'all' and 'yee-haw'_

_And I keep my Christmas lights on_

_On my front porch all year long_

_And I know all the words to every Tanya Tucker song_

_So here's to all my sisters out there keeping it country_

_Let me get a big 'hell yeah' from the redneck girls like me, _

_Hell yeah!_

_Hey, I'm a redneck woman_

_And I ain't no high class broad_

_I'm just a product of my raising_

_And I say, 'hey y'all' and 'yee-haw'_

_And I keep my Christmas lights on_

_On my front porch all year long_

_And I know all the words to every ol' Bocephus song_

_So here's to all my sisters out there keeping it country_

_Let me get a big 'hell yeah' from the redneck girls like me, _

_Hell yeah!_

_Hell yeah, hell yeah_

_Hell yeah_

_I said hell yeah!_"

The crowd whooped and yowled and then Laura Bell said:

"Any requests?"

"How about _So Much Better_?" Kate spoke up over the crowd. Laura Bell looked confused for a second, and then once she saw Kate, her confusion turned into shock.

"I'll be right back – y'all keep on dancin'!" She told the crowd, stepped off stage, and took Kate and I aside. "Katie…" she started, opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

"Hi Laura Bell!" I chirped, taking the opportunity to talk to my Elle Woods. "I'm Kurt Hummel, Kate's co-star and roommate and best friend. And we're here to rescue you!"

"Nice to meet you, Kurt…" she murmured, then starred straight at Kate, as if she were upset. "Katie, what is he _talking about_?"

"We need you!" Goddess let out. "We need you, Laura Bell – we need you in New York. We need you to be our Hope Harcourt, we need you to – "

"Katherine, please!" The blonde interrupted. "I told you before I left _Legally Blonde_. I don't belong in New York. It's not where I'm supposed to be. I told you – I'll never be _Broadway_."

"What happened to you?" Kate murmured the question. "One day, you were so happy and positive and doing great, and then the next…you just stopped. You were just done. Laura Bell, what happened to you?"

"What do you _think_?" She sneered. "First, I get positive reviews, _New York Times_ writers praising me – then no nominations. _None_. Okay, fine. Then all of a sudden, _MTV _wants to film a show. _Great_. And then – _of course_ – _MTV _takes it up a notch and starts a reality show to find 'the next Elle Woods', when I had no plans to leave yet. So Bailey Hanks wins the reality show and begs me to teach her – and I do, and I was fine with that. But she becomes a carbon copy of me, and when I do leave, no one notices. But here, here where I belong – _everyone _notices!"

"Laura Bell that's _not true_!" Kate exclaimed. "That's one-hundred-percent _not true_! _Everyone_ noticed! The show closed because you left! We _needed _you and we _need _you now! _Please_!"

"I'm sorry," she said. "Really Katie, I am. But the crowd wants me _here_. Go back to New York – it's where you belong."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Finn's POV_

"I just…I can't believe she'd do this to me. To _us_! How can she be so _selfish_? How can she only think about _herself_? She's not the girl I met that summer – she's all about _working _and…her stupid _career _now!"

Jane Eli was a really cool girl. She'd actually listen to me, unlike Puck, who would listen for about a minute and then tell me how wrong I was, and how I need to apologize to her and support her. But I _wasn't _wrong – _Rachel _was. Jane was shorter then me – by _a lot_ – and had long brown hair, and big green eyes, with a little bit of freckles around her nose. Other then being in stage crew with me, she was on the track team, and in the dance team. She'd been dancing since she was five.

"You should join glee club!" I told her when she told me about the dancing thing.

"Oh, no – I can't sing," she responded.

"I could teach you." When I said that, she shot straight up out of her chair and said:

"Sure! Of course I'll join glee club!"

I repeat – Jane Eli was a really cool girl. She wasn't being selfish. She wasn't an hour-and-a-half plane ride away. She wasn't trying to make a career for herself. She wanted to be a nurse at the local hospital after Lima Valley Community College. She was reachable. She listened to me. She didn't have anything else to move away for. And now, she would join glee club.

Jane Eli was a _really cool_ girl.

**Aw Finn, I'm so disappointed in you, here and on the show. Maybe he'll change? :) Next chapter = Reevechel drama and **_**possibly **_**Rachel leaving N2N for **_**Spider-man**_**, but that might be the chapter after. Also, Meghann's reaction to Finn - she's still co-director, and she's not to happy about Jane! So...review?**


	33. This Dream

**Sorry it's been a while, guys, I've had lots of homework over break. But it's only Friday, no one tell me it's almost back to school! :) Also: **_**guys**_**! The **_**Bonnie & Clyde **_**cast album just got released on ITunes! It's **_**amazing**_**! Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_Now that's what you call a dream._" – _Bonnie & Clyde_

_Chapter Thirty-Two_

_Kurt's POV_

The _Bonnie & Clyde _Original Cast Recording was just released on ITunes…I bought it in a minute. And then, I blew up the Broadway chat room about it.

_Kurt Hummel_: _Laura Osnes_! You should be arrested!

_Laura Osnes_: _Kurt Hummel_! Why?

_Kurt Hummel_: Because your vocals should be illegal!

_Jeremy Jordan, Kate Shindle, Rachel Berry, Reeve Carney, and sixteen others like this_

I'm sure Puck was listening to his girlfriend's angel-voice as well. As I turned the corner into the next room, I saw Kate sitting in the middle of the carpet, curled up with her laptop.

"Uh…hey," I said, and flicked on a light. "What…are you _doing_?"

"I, um…I started…working on my book again."

See, Kate was not only a Broadway actress, and Miss USA, but also wanted to be writer someday – but Katie only 'worked on her book' when she was…out of work. _Crown Chasers _was the name of it, and it was going to be a fictional young adult book, based on Goddess's experiences of becoming and then being Miss America. Her main character, Abigail, was a lot like Kate – a Northwestern University grad, a singer, and a pageant girl all rolled into one.

"Really?" I responded, sitting down next to her.

"Really."

I didn't want to give up hope yet, but Kate's writing was not a good sign. It couldn't be over…no. I refused to accept it. No Broadway career can end because of one person, can it? There had to be someone else for Hope. _Anyone _else…

Suddenly, the phone rang.

"I'll get it," I told Kate, patted her on the shoulder, and went out to get the phone. "Hello?" I said into it, and a recording came on the other end.

"Hello, we are calling to inform you that your audition spot for _Anything Goes _is no longer active…"

I hung up the phone.

No. No. I would not, could not, let this dream die.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Finn's POV_

Meghann Fahy strode into the choir room that next day looking totally normal…then, she looked at me like I was a dead man.

"Alright, New Directions," Mr. Schue started. "Let's all welcome Meghann back!" We applauded her, and she waved her arms as if she were on stage. "And now, for your assignments…" the once Spanish teacher picked up a whiteboard marker and wrote in big letters '_Personal Statements_'.

"That's what music's really all about," Meg said almost dreamily. "Telling someone how you feel, expressing yourself…"

Throughout the class, Meg wouldn't even look at me. She wouldn't call on me if I had my hand up, she wouldn't even acknowledge that I existed at all. If I collapsed on the ground and died, I'm convinced she wouldn't give a damn.

"Hey!" I yelled after her, once rehearsal ended. "What's your issue?"

"What's _my _issue?" She demanded, turning around. "I think _you _are the one who can't be bothered to support someone who honestly loves you, because it's _too hard for you_. That's _my _issue. That apparently _you _can't reciprocate _love _and _support _because _you _don't think you can't bother to be there for her!" She was about to storm out, but then turned around and added: "And don't you _dare _bring around your new little girl-toy into this room. Because I _will _bite her head off – you're _really lucky _I'm not biting off yours!"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

"Rachel…Rach…please will you open the door?"

Laura's voice came through from the other side of my door, and I knew she and all my other roommates – not counting Meg, since she was in Lima now – were there, trying to get me to open the door. I was kind of surrounded by tissues – no big deal or anything.

"Please come out so we can talk about it," Molly added. "Or sing about it?"

But I didn't want to come out. This was my decision, I know, but I felt sick to my stomach. I felt like it was all a dream – N2N ending, me moving on with my relationship…like before, I was just frozen in time, and it would never come to an end. But it has. This dream is ending.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

_Hey_. It was from Reeve.

_Hey. _I responded.

_You look like a star. A vision in blue._

_ Oh I do?_

_ And you are…_ _:) _His next text said. _Come outside. We'll hail a cab and go do something fun._

_ I don't feel like today, Reeve. _I answered him.

_ Why not? _He asked.

_I…just don't. Sorry._

_ Don't apologize, _he said. _C'mon. You can do it. I'm right outside. And I have a really special something for you… _When I didn't respond, he added: _Please? _

_ Well…fine, alright._

I did go out and meet him, and we hailed a cab and once we were seated, Reeve said to the driver:

"Go, Jimmy, you know where I wanna take her."

He took me to Joe's Pub, which is a cute little bar that all of us Broadway people go to sing at. It's fun – we come up with set lists and everything, and Joe always gives us free drinks – which, in my case, are non-alcoholic. Adam was standing up at the little stage, with Kyle Dean sitting on the side, near Jessica, Alice, Louis, and Bobby. There was one empty seat near Kyle Dean.

"Wait…only one seat?"

"Yup," Reeve said with that cute half-smile of his. "And it's for me. _You _are singing tonight."

"But…Reeve! I – I can't! I'm not prepared! I – "

" – Hey!" Adam's voice called. "Come on, Natalie, these people want to hear your voice!"

I got up on stage with him, and stood next to him at the mic that was set up for me. We sang a whole set list – we did _Hey 3_, _Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind _from _Spring Awakening_, _Without You _from _RENT_, and a lot more. So maybe this dream is ending, I thought, but went I looked over and saw Reeve there with me, it dawned on me – a new one is just beginning.

**Review? :)**


	34. Some Made Up World

**Hey again guys! It's been a while, huh? I know. But for the last marking period I really wanted to bring my grades up, and now I have all As again! :) One quick thing: Laura Osnes recently said in an interview that her mother died last summer, and that's who she dedicated **_**Bonnie & Clyde **_**to, but I already wrote Laura's mother into this story, so I'm making it her grandmother instead. Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_Don't take much to be a dreamer – all's ya' do is close your eyes. But some made up world is all you'll ever see…_" – _Newsies_

_Chapter Thirty-Three_

_Rachel's POV_

In beautiful, bustling Manhattan, Laura Osnes lay on her bed, drowning herself in tears. She cried, and cried, and cried some more. _Bonnie & Clyde_, a show that was playing like a hit – and was genuinely thought to be one, too – had closed suddenly, due to bad reviews by steaming, judgmental critics. On top of that, Laura had dedicated this role to her grandmother, who died last summer when I had gone back to Lima. Unlike her stiff parents, Laura's grandma was always supportive of her big dreams, and this show's closing made her feel like a failure.

"Poor Laura…" Josie whimpered as the rest of us – not counting Meg, who was in Lima – sat around on the couch.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Molly yowled. "_Bonnie & Clyde _was playing like a hit! And it was really, _really _good!"

"What the hell _happened_?" Annaleigh demanded to no one in particular.

"Another Frank Wildhorn show, closed before it's time…" Krysta murmured. "You know what happened? Judgmental critics!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, my mouth agape. The critics had been nothing but great to me, and I always thought they were black and white – if you were good, they were good to you, and if you were bad, well…they made that known, too. What did she mean? 'Judgmental critics' – judgmental about what?

"The same thing happened with _The Addams Family_, only we didn't close because of it," Krysta continued, shaking her head as if she were in the face of a total wrong. "When the critics have a beef with a certain producer, or director, or – in Laura's case, and Kurt and Kate's – composer, they take it up with the show. They have columns in all the nationally read papers, people get ideas – "

" – But, but…" I interrupted her. "But…that's so _wrong_!"

"That doesn't mean they can't _do it_," Molly answered sadly, as Laura's cries continued in the background.

"Anyone wanna try to get her out of her room?" Krysta prompted.

"I will," I volunteered, and walked over to Laura's door. I knocked twice and mewed as happily as I could:

"Laura? Laur? C'mon, _please _will you come out?"

No response.

"Have you talked to Puck about it?"

I knew he had called her – they talked all through the night last night. Puck asked her if she wanted him to come up to be with her – he insisted on it, actually – but she said no, she wanted to be alone. When he asked if she wanted to come down to Lima, he got the same answer.

"Rach…" Laura's horse, truly _sad_ voice came through the door at last. "Please, please just let me be alone."

"I…okay," I surrendered with a sigh. "Okay."

Meanwhile, Laura felt like a prisoner in her own body. She wanted to scream; she wanted to throw herself out of her window – but she was almost totally silent, minus the occasional cry. She bared all her pain – her shattering, almost undesirable _pain _– in silence because she simply could not find words. She needed to be alone. She needed to be someplace dark, some nowhere-land where no one could ever, ever find her. She needed to never see any other person's face again – well, except for Puck's, she decided – and live on – if she can muster the strength – like _this_, like a star that died, like a spiraling black hole of nothingness…

_This _was her life now.

All her hard work, all the shows she's been in, the countless roles she's auditioned for…all down the drain! Her head her spun; she was light-headed and dizzy. _Done_. _Gone_.

All of it. All of _her_.

Laura's phone vibrated, and the ringtone of _Anything Goes _blared – meaning it was Sutton, Laura's old co-star, who was living in California now; she was on an _ABC Family _show called _Bunheads _instead of headlining as Reno Sweeny.

"Laura, honey?" Her beautifully Broadway-trained voice spoke into Laura's voicemail. "Please, _please _pick up? I know you've got to be crushed – things like this, they're _horrible_…please? C'mon, I miss you. Don't ya' wanna know how the _fabulous_ life of a television star is?" She asked that question with her signature Sutton Foster zing. "I finally know why Lea Michele left Broadway for this kind of work! _Ha_!" She fake-laughed. "I have butlers at my feet! And _Linus _has butlers at his feet!" Linus was Sutton's puppy. "Laura…?" Then the voicemail cut her off.

Even Sutton Foster – who was previously Laura's all-time idol – could not put her in a good mood today.

She must have fallen asleep for some time, she figured, because Laura's phone was vibrating in her lap yet again, and it startled her for a moment before she glanced at her cell. She realized then that Jeremy Jordan, the Clyde to her Bonnie, was calling her. _Let it go to voicemail_, she thought in a second, and it did. It was nothing against him – they were very close friends – but she could _not _talk to anyone who had anything to do with _Bonnie & Clyde _right now. Just thinking about it made her feel sick.

"Laur, c'mon," his rough, but ever-smooth voice said into her voicemail. "I know you're there. Pick up." She didn't. "God, Laur, I know you feel like you wanna die. Me too. Just…pick up the phone. Please? For good ol' Clyde Barrow?"

Still no reaction.

It was agonizing hours later when Laura's phone vibrated for the third time – she didn't even have to wait for it to ring.

"_Puck_?"

…_Don't take much to be a dreamer – _

_All's ya' do is close your eyes. _

_But some made up world is all you'll ever see._

_Now my eyes is finally opened,_

_And my dreams, they's seem average-size,_

_But they don't much matter if you ain't with me…_

**Poor Laura. :( What do you think she'll do next, since she's in such a dark place as too forget her big dreams? Hopefully someone will knock some sense back into her really soon. Review, please! :)**


	35. Part Of Something Special

**Yes, dear readers, here we are. The chapter of Rachel's last show in **_**Next To Normal**_**. I'm sorry but it had to happen at one point or another. I should worn you that this'll have to hold you for a while, I'm leaving for vacation on the eighteenth and won't be back for ten days (I won't have Internet access at all). So, please don't cry, my N2N fans – I started to when I was listening to the audio of Jenn's last N2N performance, which of course this is based on. Think of it as an expansion of Rachel's character – she just started to really grow, we can't hold her back now, can we? :) Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"_I was so, so lucky…with that production, the amount of growth, it's just amazing. I miss it so much… There was a lot going on. I mean, the parts of myself that I had to access was just – I don't know, it was just crazy. I think it's because growing through these roles, it's just this trip…at the time, during _Next To Normal_, there was only six people in the cast, it wasn't like _Spring Awakening _where there were a lot of kids around, it was just this family, telling this really dark story…I didn't really realize the intensity of what I was doing on stage… I was so, so blessed._" – Jennifer Damiano

_Chapter Thirty-Four_

_Rachel's POV_

The sign on the Booth Theater stage door read these words:

_Last show – Alice Ripley (Diana) and Rachel Berry (Natalie)_

I gasped when I saw the sign – Alice hadn't told me it was not only _my _last show tonight, but _hers _too! For some reason, this changed everything. I felt like the show would be fine with Meg stepping in as Natalie permanently – she plays a damn good Natalie Goodman, if I do say so myself. I had to get to the bottom of this. I knocked on Alice's door three times and finally said:

"Alice? Alice, can I come in?" After a few seconds, the door opened. She was drinking a vanilla milkshake, like she does before every show, and said:

"Rachel, baby, you seem really tense. Is everything okay? Are you nervous, don't be nervous – I know it's hard to leave, but – "

" – I didn't know you were leaving, too!" I yelled over her. "_You _can't leave too, this show _needs you_! Why did you _tell _me?"

"I knew it would freak you out," she chuckled a bit. "Like you are now."

"I…" but she was right. I was acting like Natalie again. In that moment, I broke down and hugged Alice tightly. I started crying – _sobbing _– and moaned. "I really gonna miss you! You've always been like a mom to me! You've always been _everything _to me! This whole time, all I've ever wanted to be…was _you_!"

It was true, too. All I've ever reached for was to be an Alice Ripley – a _star_. And now, I was on the way to becoming one. But why did this road have to be so…_lonely_? I didn't want to leave my N2N family, but I knew I had too. There was no other way, at this point. I'd always miss them, I'd always miss Natalie…but I had to spread my wings and fly. I had to follow this road, no matter how lonely.

"Rachel…" she murmured, returning the hug. "Now, why would you want that?"

"Because – because…you're _you_!" I stuttered. "You're a _star_! You're a _real Broadway star_! And you're special – _talented_! You've got it all, in my eyes, Alice…"

"Rachel Barbra Berry," she held my shoulders and looked straight at me. "Listen to me: you will always be apart of this production, as long as you live. No matter where you go, what parts you play, what you do with your life – Natalie Goodman and _Next To Normal _will always be a part of who you are. And that, that's something special. What did I tell you when we first started this show, hmm? Do you remember?"

I did – and I'd never forget it.

"Being part of something special makes you special."

And she was so, so right.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"When she gets like this…" I spoke the lines leading into _Superboy _for the last time. "She's…_useless_. She can't use the phone," the music builds as Natalie's emotion does. "Can't drive…"

"I bet she's got great pills!" Adam, as Henry, chimes in. Natalie glares at him and she counters it with: "I mean, not that I'd go there – that shit's _inorganic_!" The audience laughs and Natalie continues with:

"And totally ineffective apparently."

"I'm old-school," Henry continues. "Dying breed – all the preppies and the jocks are raiding their parents medicine cabinets, and popping Xanax, and snorting Adderall…"

"Really?" Natalie questions, an idea building in her head.

"But me," Henry starts again. "I'm the master of the lost art of making a pipe out of an apple!" He shows it to her, and Natalie contorts:

"Yeah – you're the MacGyver of pot. You promise this'll help?" The music continues to build, and Henry sighs:

"No…" he sees Natalie's emotion building, just as the music does – rapidly and uncontrollably, so he asks: "What?"

"_Superboy and the Invisible Girl..._

_Son of steel and daughter of air._

_He's a here, a lover, a prince-_

_She's not there._

_Superboy and the Invisible Girl..._

_Everything a kid ought to be._

_He's immortal, forever alive-_

_Then there's me…_"

By now, I am crying again. I used to be just like Natalie – for a while, I really thought I _was_ _her _– the invisible girl. But now, her I was. I had a Tony with my name on it, a much better relationship with my mom, Shelby, really close friends who loved me no matter what, an amazing family with my dads and with the N2N cast, and I was about to be in a leading role in one of the biggest, boldest musicals to hit the stage in years. I was _anything but _invisible now. But still, I am crying through the song. I grab Adam's hand during the '_me_' in the line '_then there's me_'. He squeezes it for luck and I continue, still an emotional mess – what you could expect of Natalie Goodman, but not of Rachel Berry.

"_I wish I could fly_

_And magically appear_

_And disappear._

_I wish I could fly_

_I'd fly far away from here._"

Then, Alice enters. I turn to look at her as I always did, and I have to gasp to control my breathing.

"_Superboy and the Invisible Girl..._

_He's the one you wish would appear._

_He's your here, forever your son-_

_He's not here._

_I am here!_"

Alice, who is now also crying, sings her part of the song as Diana:

"_You know that's not true!_

_You're our little pride and joy,_

_Our perfect plan!_

_You know I love you..._

_I love you as much as I can!_"

I take a moment as the music continues to breathe, and look myself over. I look down at my feet, then I look over my hands – they are not invisible. I was _never _invisible, and if I'm _anything _now…I'm glowing. _Shinning_. Shinning – like a star.

"_Take a look at the Invisible Girl..._

_Here she is, clear as the day._

_Please look closely and find her before_

_She fades away!_"

And, with Kyle Dean, I finish Natalie Goodman's song for the last time:

"_Superboy and the Invisible Girl..._

_Son of steel and daughter of air._

_He's a here, a lover, a prince-_

_She's not there!_

_She's not there – _

_She's not there – _

_She's not there!_"

The only other part of the show that I cried during was _Hey 3/Perfect For You (Reprise)_. As always, Natalie shows up, in her vision-in-blue dress, and meets Henry at the Spring Formal dance. Adam starts:

"_Hey,_"

"_Hey,_" I respond.

"_You look like a…_" He pauses, and then puts extra emphasis on the word: "_star!_" And the audience claps their approval. "_A vision in blue_."

"_Oh I do?_"

Adam nods, honestly, and continues: "_And you are!_" The song goes on with his lyric:

"_Hey, you came!_"

"_Well, I said that I might_."

"_I thought we were through – _

_Me and you_…"

I shake my head and start to feel tears in my eyes again: "_Not tonight_."

"_Will you mom be ok?_"

"_Well, she might be some day…_"

"_But for now it's all fine?_"

"_She's still on my mind._"

"_Can you leave it behind?_"

"_Hey, hey!_"

"_Stay,_" Adam continues:"_Let's see this thing through…_" But I really start to cry on the lyrics:

"_Am I crazy?_

_I might end up crazy!_"

"_I'll be here for you!_" Not just Henry, but Adam, pledges honestly.

"_You say that right here…_" I continue to cry, the emotions of both myself and Natalie pouring out of me through these lyrics. I continue as best as I can:

"_But then give it a year – _

_Or 10 years, or a life_

_And I could end up your wife!_

_Sitting staring at walls,_

_Throwing shit down the stairs,_

_Freaking out at the store,_

_Running nude down the street,_

_Bleeding out in the bath – _"

" – _Perfect for you!_" He stops me, holding my hand. He looks right into my eyes and continues:

"_I_…" but he stops. Adam stops for almost an entire minute. He is crying now too. We've always been more then friends – we've always been Henry and Natalie…

And we always will be.

Finally, he starts again:"_…will be perfect for you!_

_So you could go crazy_

_Or I could go crazy, it's true!_

_Sometimes life isn't sane_

_But crazy I know I can do_

'_Cause crazy is perfect_

_And fucked up is perfect_

_So I will be perfect!_"

"_Perfect!_" With that one word, both of us stop crying. This isn't goodbye – we will always be Natalie and Henry – part of something special.

"_Perfect for you!_"

**So, review?**


	36. I'd Hate To Say Goodbye, Sweetheart

**Sorry this has taken so long, my muse has been all over the place, and I really can't focus on one story to well right now. Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"_I remember when I was just a little girl, looking up to these big Broadway stars…I've been twinkle-eyed these last four years; so blessed and so fortunate…and now, being on Broadway, originating a role – that does not happen! That does not happen to people! It's just been absolutely incredible, and I'm so thankful…yeah, it still seems unreal. And yes, I've grown up from that little girl, and it has become a job…there are days when I'm rushing through Times Square, trying to get to work…but there are other days when I look up and see my face on a billboard and think 'this is Time Square. I live here. I'm on Broadway. There's my billboard. There's my name in lights.' It doesn't seem real…there's something kind of magical about Broadway._" – Laura Osnes

_Chapter Thirty-Five_

_Kurt's POV_

"Hello little angel!" Kate cupped the face of the new pitbull puppy she had rescued – it was dark grey with little black patches, and to Kate, the most adorable thing in the world. "_Twitter_'s just gonna _love _you!" Whenever she was feeling down, Goddess would adopt a dog in need from a local pound or shelter, and tweet a picture and description of him or her, hoping to find that dog a good home.

As she got up to grab her phone to take a picture of him, I looked down at the pitbull in question, and realized: Katie was missing the point. She was ignoring the situation we were in, as if it weren't happening. As if we _weren't _show-less. As if we _weren't _out of luck. She was pretending it wasn't happening, like everything was okay – this was _so _not the Kate Shindle I know. The Kate Shindle I know is a _shark _in these kind of situations – what happened to her? Was she just too upset over the loss of _Wonderland _to cope, as if someone she loved had died and she wasn't dealing with it yet? Or was she so hurt, still, from past shows that had closed on her that she just didn't have the fight in her anymore? I brushed around our coffee table and found an opened envelope, with an invitation inside. It was a 'save the date' – a wedding invitation. It proclaimed:

_Kate Shindle and Kurt Hummel –_

_Save the date for the wedding of_

_Janet Dacal and Darren Ritchie_

Janet and Darren were our _Wonderland _co-stars – they were Alice and Jack the White Knight, the couple that came out on top in the story. In real life, they had been dating for years, and after everyone bowed at our last show, Darren took a microphone from a tech guy who was waiting for his signal, and proposed to Janet right then and there, on stage, in front of everyone. It was magical, if I do say so myself. I was happy for them – maybe neither of them got awards or much recognition for all of their hard work – but it lead them to each other, which, for them, is better than any Tony.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when Kate's phone, which she had just finished using as a camera, started ringing loudly. She gasped when she saw who was calling, and put it to her ear as quickly as she could. With stuttered, surprised words, Kate spoke into her phone:

"L-Laura Bell…?"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

Laura walked slowly into the front room, suitcase rolling in tow, as if she were walking in a funeral procession. My roommates and I starred at her with wide, unbelieving eyes. She couldn't actually be…_leaving_, could she? Suddenly, Meg burst into our shared apartment, with a huge smile on her face, proclaiming:

"Rachel, you missed a great show tonight! Kyle Dean and I were on fire! And Adam – " she stopped when she saw the scene in front of her. "What…what's going on here?"

"I'm leaving, Meghann," Laura said solemnly.

"What…do you mean?" The now full-time Natalie asked, as unbelieving as the rest of us. "W-why would you even say that?"

"Because my parents were right," Laura's voice didn't even quiver, as if she had come to peace with the statement. "Sometimes, dreams are just dreams. I'm just a girl from Egan, Minnesota. I'm not a Broadway star, I never will be. Who was I kidding? I'm not cut out for this."

Molly opened her mouth, as if to protest, but slowly closed it. Krysta, the oldest and the one who has been in the most shows, shook her head as if she _knew _this was a _huge _mistake. Josie looked near tears. Meg was still in shock. I simply stood there, dumbstruck and unable to speak, move, or do anything at all. Laura Osnes – Sandy from _Grease_, Nellie from _South Pacific_, Hope from _Anything Goes_, and most importantly, Bonnie from _Bonnie & Clyde_, was leaving us. She was leaving us, taking her star off the Broadway map, saying goodbye to the City and all whose hearts beat for it. She was turning off the ghost light, she was locking the theater doors, she was closing the curtain. Laura's last statement echoed in my head: '_I'm not cut out for this._'. But…she was so _wrong_ about that! I wanted to shake her, to take her by the hand and make her believe in her talents again…but there was nothing anyone could say to Laura now. Well, nothing but one more word:

"Goodbye."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

In Lima, meanwhile, Puck was busy enjoying his weekend. After a full Saturday of doing nothing at all, today was his Sunday to rehearse, since he was finally home alone. His _Anything Goes _script was open on his bed, and he spoke into a mirror, practicing some of his lines and lyrics.

"_I'd hate to say goodbye, sweetheart_…" he sang to his reflection.

In another second, there was a knock on the door downstairs. Puck slumped from his room, down the stairs, and to the door, and opened it with a sigh:

"Finn, if you're here to complain more about how freakin' messed up you are without Rachel, just – " but he stopped when he saw who was actually there, on his doorstep.

"Laura?"

**Review please? :)**


	37. Not Her Way

**It's August now, which means I'll have to pick up the pace even **_**more **_**on my crazy amount of summer work. Why am I taking so many honors courses? Anyway, there's a really cute interview on ****from Jenn and Adam Chanler-Berat about being best friends and answering questions about each other, it's very cute, and there's lots of cute pictures too. I had used one of the quotes from there as this chapter quote originally, but the Kate Shindle part of this chapter overpowers the Rachel part, and I want to save that quote for later anyway! :) Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"_So there's this girl and there's this guy – off and on, they date…he's always rounding up and always keeping score – he wants control, he wants a dog, he wants a one year anniversary, and more…That's not her way. That's not how she goes. She has no need to label something she already knows… She is the sturdy one, the callous one, she is, she always was…when he dropped to one knee, she sort of laughed instead of cried. And when she saw he had a ring, she couldn't breathe and ran outside…We are not all right – we are not okay! I must not have been clear enough. I guess I meant to say: you are not my life! You are not my soul. You are someone who's a part of me, you are not in control…" – "Not Her Way" _by the composers: Kerrigan-Lowdermilk, from the musical: _Tales From The Bad Years_, as preformed by Kate Shindle

_Chapter Thirty-Six_

_Kurt's POV_

This morning, Kate sat in her red spiny-chair with her laptop in her lap, and logged onto _Twitter_. Her newest pitbull puppy had found a good home, so she was very happy with her followers at this time. Maybe _that's _why she tweeted what she did. Or maybe it was just for the nostalgia of it all. I don't know and she won't tell me – she doesn't talk about her Miss America days, not unless I bring it up first. Either way, this morning, Kate tweeted a picture of herself being crowned Miss America for the entire world to see, with the caption: _exactly 78 million years ago today, sometime in the Mesozoic era, THIS HAPPENED._

Just like I'm sure all of Kate's twitter followers did, I starred at the picture in awe – Katherine Renee Shindle was the most naturally, strikingly beautiful person I'd ever seen, without even trying. She looked like a runway model when she rolled out of bed in the morning. So, as you can image, when Kate was dressed up in her white pageant gown, her sea-green eyes full of happiness and pride as the Miss America crown is placed on her head, her beauty is magnified about five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred times, but not just because of the dress, or the hair, or the makeup. It was because of her happiness. Her pure, unsoiled happiness…

Right now, Kate's face looked fairly similar to that in the picture – happiness wise, anyway. Since getting off the phone with Laura Bell yesterday, Kate informed me that the blonde had agreed to come back to Broadway, at least for a little while, to help us. Even though we were too late for the _Anything Goes _auditions, it wasn't like all bets were off – there were still upcoming auditions for _Rock Of Ages_, _Chicago, Evita, _and _Wicked._

"You'd be such a good Elphaba," I told the Miss America next to me. "And I've got my eyes on Boc."

"Great plan, Munchkin man!" Kate rhymed, and laughed at her own little joke. Suddenly, someone knocked on the apartment door, causing both of us to jump.

"Are you expecting someone?" I asked her.

"No," she said, approaching the door. "Are you?"

"No," I answered, having no idea how could be at the door now. When Kate opened the door, she gasped, and murmured 'oh, my…_God_…'. The door opened to reveal a guy, about Kate's age. He was gorgeous, just like she was – gorgeous without trying, as if beauty from the heart and soul seeped out to show on their faces. He had soft, light brown hair and warm brown eyes, a little five-o'clock shadow and two Mario Lopez-like dimples. Leaning in the doorway, he finally spoke, saying:

"Hi Katherine."

"Oh, my _God_…" Kate repeated.

"And I thought you'd be _happy _to see me," the boy added with a hint of a sarcastic smile.

"I – no!" Kate yelled. "No! Why on earth would you think that, James? I am _not _happy to see you! I…_no_! You can't be here! You _can't _be _here_! I left you in New Jersey for a _reason_! This is _my life_ and _you _are _not in it_!"

"Hi, _James_, was it?" I said to the boy in the doorframe after I ran to Goddess, holding her back. I held onto Kate with one arm now, and extended my free hand to him. "I'm Kurt Hummel. Kate's best friend and co-star and roommate and – "

"_Kate_?" He cut me off. "Did…you just call her 'Kate'?"

"That is her name," I said as calmly as I could.

"But Katherine!" His eyes shot back to Kate. "You always said…you always said never to call you that! That only your grandmother could call you that!"

"Like he said," her voice quivered – something I had never heard before. "That _is _my _name_. Not like you would know, James."

"I _love _you, Katherine!" James declared. "I came here to tell you that! To tell you that, all this time without you, you're all I ever think about! I _loved _you that night at the café, I _loved _you all the days before that, and I _love _you right now!"

"Oh, God…" Kate trailed off. "James…"

"Why did you run?" He asked her. "_Why_? We were happy, Katherine! We can still _be happy_! Please…come back home with me. Come back to Moorestown with me. You remember what we had…we can have that again! We can have that _right now_!"

"No, James," she sighed deeply. "We can't. When I left you in New Jersey, do you remember what I told you? I told you I was sorry, but my dreams were bigger than this small town life. That I was sorry, but my dreams were bigger than you. And you know what? They still are. My dreams…they aren't done yet. They're only just beginning. I could go back with you, James. I could go back to Moorestown and we could buy that little house with the blue shutter-windows, and get married in the town square, and have three kids and a dog and a freaking anniversary. I could go back to that reality. But I won't. That's not my life – that's not my plan. I may be from that place, that might be everyone else's plan, but not mine. I told you once, James, and I'll tell you again: goodbye."

After a few sputters of protest, James sadly left.

"Okay," I said once Kate held her face in her hands. "I need to know what that was about. Story time."

Kate sat down, took a deep breath, and started to re-hash her life before Miss America, before Broadway, before she was Kate "Goddess" Shindle.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

Dear Natalie,

_I can't do this._

…

I stare at my laptop's screen – I'm staring so hard that I'm starting to see dizzy, faded blue-and-yellow strips across the screen. I thought this would help, but I just can't bring myself to write this. I once heard someone say that Oprah says that it helps you work out frustration if you write a letter to someone and don't send it, or rip it up afterwards. I thought writing a letter to Natalie would help…but I just can't do it. I can't write out what I'm feeling, because I don't know the words to cover it. I don't feel like Natalie Goodman, like I used to – it's not that I feel invisible, that I may fade into a nothing – it's a totally new, indiscernible feeling that bubbles in the pit of my stomach. I feel like a lost child. I want to run away and hide under a blanket – I want to curl up in a ball and go back to my Natalie Goodman days. I miss _Next To Normal_. I miss Adam. I miss Meghann. I miss Alice, and Bobby, and Aaron, Louis, Kyle Dean, everyone. I miss the band and the lighting people, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey. I miss Lima. I miss my dads, and I miss Shelby. I miss Finn.

I miss my life. I've never done anything like this before. I've never had so much pressure on me before. What do I do? Where do I go? I have no idea which way is up, which is down, left or right.

I'm lost.

**Review?**


	38. Moving On

**Here's another update. Please, Finchel fans, don't hate me. This is all part of character/plot development! Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"…_Catch me, I'm falling – sinking, and sprawling. Maybe I'll let myself fall. Watch me, I'm falling – maybe the falling isn't so bad after all. Watch me, I'm falling. Watch me, I'm flying! Somehow surviving!_" – Diana Goodman, _Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me, I'm Falling (Reprise)_, _Next To Normal_

_Chapter Thirty-Seven_

_Rachel's POV_

I kissed Reeve, hard, and the lights faded to a blackout.

"That was great, you guys!" Julie smiled bigly as the stage lights flicked back on. "That was _perfect_! How long have we been at this?" She asked as she checked her watch, and answered herself: "Wow, nearly six hours now!"

"Really?" Reeve asked, sitting on the stage next to me. "It doesn't feel like it."

"I know," I added. "It feels like we just started. Can't we keep going?"

"I have to go do my rounds at _The Lion King_," Julie said, ready to exit the Foxwoods Theater. "But you two are welcome to stay as long as you like. I'll leave the key here, and you can just lock up when you're done?"

"Sure, that'd be cool," Reeve nodded with a half-smile. "It's alright with you?"

"Yeah," I told him. "The more practice we can have together, the better!"

"That's the spirit!" Julie cheered. "So, I'll see you both tomorrow, I – oh, Rachel," she added, a new thought popping into her head. This was the norm for Julie Taymore – new thoughts buzzed and whirred in and out of her head at all times, her mind and heart always on something new and exciting. "When are you going to dye your hair?"

"Oh…"

I trailed off, and looked down a bit. I'd promised Julie I would do that soon – my hair was still it's normal color, and Mary Jane Watson was noted for her bright red hair. I would wear a wig on stage, but to keep it from being obvious to the audience, Julie and I decided that I would dye my hair as well. Maybe this wasn't a big deal, but I felt like dyeing my hair would be the final step in moving on from the Natalie Goodman phase of my life. I was dreading it, like a little kid would dread going to the doctor's office, even if it was just for a check-up. The fear of possibly getting a shot was too much to deal with, as the fear of Natalie Goodman, Lima, and everything else going away for good was too much to deal with right now. But it was like ripping off a Band-Aid – I just needed to take a breath, and _do it_.

"Tonight," I said. "I'll dye it tonight."

"Great," said Julie, as she walked out. "See you tomorrow!" And then, she was gone.

"Hey," Reeve elbowed me. "I can help you dye your hair, if ya' want."

"Okay," I smiled at him. "That'd be…great."

"So," he started, shaking himself, and moving an inch farther away from me. "Should I take it from 'anything could be…'?"

"Sure," I said, and Reeve started his line:

"Anything could be happing out there," he recited. "An alien invasion, the end of the world…"

"C'mon," I responded with my line. "Stay with me." And then I sang:

"_Don't think about tomorrow_

_We've only got today_

_There's nothing that I want from you_

_Not a word you have to say._" Then Reeve, who should not have been singing during my solo, butted in and took the next verse:

"_You are all I need_

_And all I can defend_

_All I need to hold on to_

_If the world should end_." I took back what was rightfully mine, after elbowing Reeve once more, and sang:

"_In my imagination_

_I could not have made this up_

_In a world stranger than fiction_

_Ours is no fictional love!_" Reeve smiled his signature half-grin at me, and started singing:

"_I can see the you,_

_Under your second skin_

_I can feel your heartbeat quicken_

_Quicken and then slow_

_There's nothing else I need to know_

_And there's nothing you need to pretend_

_If the world should end._" Giving in to him, I shared the rest of the song with him, singing with the boy who played Spider-man:

"_And the sky tonight is luminous_

_For all the wrong reasons_

_And every doorway is hiding something_

_And if this world should all_

_Come crashing down_

_I wouldn't care at all!_

_And if there's no tomorrow,_

_I'll have today again_

_There's no time for sorrow,_

_When there's no such thing as time_

_And if the darkness will descend_

_Don't need a savior, or a friend,_

_I can say I've really loved,_

_If the world should end_."

I went into kiss him, as the script calls for, but Reeve kissed me before I could. In that moment, it was clear – we weren't Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson anymore. We were just Reeve Carney and Rachel Berry now...

My head spun, and it took a second before I pushed him away.

"Reeve…" I started. "I…I can't do this. N-not with…_my life_! I'm one fuck-up from _disaster_!" I didn't realize that I was speaking Natalie's words until after I said them.

"Your life is _not _a disaster!" Reeve countered, having no idea that he was speaking Henry's words back to mine. "And I'm in love with you, Rachel Berry. I've been in love with you since…since I met you! You're amazing, and talented, and smart, funny, beautiful…you're all I could ever want or ask for. Seeing you compromise your life for that _jerk _Finn Hudson broke my heart, and I don't want to wait for you any longer. I love you, Rachel. I love you, I love you, I _love _– "

He stopped speaking when I pressed my lips against his. It wasn't some Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson kiss-to-end-all-kisses. It wasn't familiar, or heated, or anything dramatic of the sort. It was just Reeve Carney and Rachel Berry, two close friends – or, now _more than friends _– moving on.

**I know it's short but I have to go babysit. Review?**


	39. Facing Out There

**I love Kate Shindle. I've been watching videos of her all day and listening to the **_**Sympathy Jones **_**recording. She really is a goddess. :) Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"_Everyday I come to work at 9:07…and by 9:15 – here's my life. The same old sorry tale. Everyday I wonder 'what did I do wrong?'…Everyday 'til five 'o-clock I keep on thinking 'what if today my life could change?' The simple facts rearrange – I'd be in this office, but not in this chair. Standing in this doorway, but facing out there…_" – Kate Shindle, _Sympathy Jones: The New Secret Agent Musical_

_Chapter Thirty-Eight_

_Kurt's POV_

Kate sat back down in her red spin-y chair, sighed whole heartedly, and looked back up at me.

"James was my fiancé," she started, and I gasped.

"Your _fiancé_?" I echoed. "_Was _your…_fiancé_? And you're just telling me this _now_?"

"He's part of my past, Kurt," Katie whimpered, not really looking me in the eyes. "I left him in New Jersey along with the rest of it. The rest of my past, I mean. To rot where I'd never see it again…"

"B-but…" I stuttered. "New Jersey's just over the bridge! It's not like Lima, where it's a whole plane ride away. You could go back whenever you want!"

"I _could_…" she murmured, then snickered to herself, and added: "It may just be over the bridge, but Jersey's a world away for me…" she looked up at me, took a breath, and said: "Would you like to know my past, Kurt? You won't like to hear it, that's why I never fully told you all of it. It's not a happy-go-lucky story, like Laura who won a reality show, or you who just followed your dreams. I had a dream _before _this dream. Call it a stepping-stone to this dream, if you will…"

"Miss America?" I prompted.

"Exactly," she answered, and continued: "I had done beauty pageants forever, like the kids on _Toddlers And Tiaras_, except I was a lot less spoiled…" she laughed a little and started again: "My mom used to sit me in front of this…this big mirror she had in our old house in Moorestown, New Jersey, and let me wear her string of pearls around my neck. She said I was born beautiful. But I'd never thought anything of my beauty, I'd never thought I was any more beautiful than the next girl…I still don't."

"But Kate, you were _Miss America_!" I interjected. "You _have _to know you're beautiful. You were crowned for it!"

"If you ask me, it's the inside beauty that everyone should look at," she kept on. "Anyway, like I said, I'd done pageants all my life. I never thought of them as an optional thing. They just happened, as if out of routine, like brushing my teeth or something that you just, you know, _do _without thinking. And, as I got older, I got bullied really, really badly. So badly that I changed schools for a while – "

"Wait, wait, whoa!" I stopped her. "_You_? _Bullied_? No way!"

"Yeah," she responded. "I really don't know what I did to attract it. I guess…I did pageants and liked Broadway show tunes and reading. I wasn't exactly cool. So…I turned to pageants even more – they weren't just a kid thing anymore. I wanted to win. I _needed _to win. I needed to have the best hair, and the best walk, the best everything. It became like air to me. I got so caught up in it, that I forgot all about anything else then my pageant life…" she trailed off, and stopped for a moment, so I added:

"And…?"

"And, then I met James," she concluded. "He was from Moorestown, too, from one of those families who'd lived in town forever. He was my high school sweetheart. He was…" she trailed off yet again, and then continued: "…the love of my life. He kept me grounded. He kept me…well, _me_. He made me remember what it was like to be normal, book-loving, Broadway-belting Katherine and not just _Miss America_. Yeah, he was there for when I was crowned. And, honestly…I won Miss America, I thought I had acompished my dreams, I went around touring for my cause…and then went back home with James, and life went on as if I _hadn't _just done what I thought was my life's dream. I was just Katherine, and there, with him, I always would be…"

"So you…you left?" I asked.

"Yes, I did," Kate answered. "But not before James proposed to me, in a café in town we'd always go to. He proposed and I accepted, and we were happy and engaged. We were going to buy a little house in town with these adorable blue shutter-windows, and…well, that was that. But…everyday I wondered, 'is this the rest of my life, in this neutral, unchanging state now? No more dreams to chase, no more…anything?'. It was supposed to be the beginning of my life, but it felt more like the end of it. So, I ran. I gave him back the ring and told him that I still had lots more dreaming left to do. I went to New York for modeling, but then I met someone."

"Who?"

"Frank Wildhorn," Kate smiled at me. "He said to me: 'wow, aren't you a _goddess_! It's a shame you're modeling and not on Broadway. Can you sing?'. I said yes, even though I'd never really sang before. I wasn't cut out for Broadway, but Frank liked me, and put me in the ensemble in _Jekyll & Hyde_, and that's when I realized how much I loved Broadway. I started singing, and acting. I did some plays; put out some CDs and EPs. Then came _Jekyll & Hyde: Revived_, then _Dracula, _and _Legally Blonde_…and well, the rest is history."

I looked at Kate for a second, and saw her, vulnerable, for the first time. I'd always had Kate Shindle up on this pedestal, as if she really were a goddess – infallible, flawless, _perfect_. I used to look at her and see what I would strive to become: a Broadway power-player, someone who could easily take the theatre world by storm, with one hand tied behind her back. I look at her now, in front of me like she was, and see much more than that. I see someone who had to make a lot of hard choices, someone who went through an unbelievable amount of growth, someone who, if I'm lucky, I can emulate one day.

"You're perfect, Goddess," I said as I wrapped my arms around her. "Don't ever forget that. You're everything I ever want to be."

"No, Kurt," she whispered back. "_You _are everything _I _ever want to be."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

"I'm back!" Krysta called, carrying takeout from _Above _in both her hands, shutting the door to our apartment with her foot.

"Guys! Kyrsta's back!" Meg called, jumping up to help her. The rest of us scattered around, grabbing each container to see which had our names scribbled on it. In the shuffle, one white, Styrofoam contain was dropped on the floor. It read, in scribbly black Sharpie: _Laura_.

"Oh…" I said, picking it up.

"Oh my God, I must've got her order out of habit," Krysta said, and quickly put it in the refrigerator – out of sight, out of mind.

"I miss Laura," Annaleigh piped up. "It's not the same without her here."

"I know," Molly told the blonde. "But…it'll be alright. Who knows? Maybe, soon, she'll come to her senses and come back!"

No one said anything at that.

Meanwhile, in Lima, Puck opened the door to see his girlfriend standing before him.

"Laura…?" He blinked. "What're you…? Why're you…?"

He shut up when she kissed him, hard.

"Not that I'm not so happy to see you!" He remarked when their lips parted. "But shouldn't you be in New York?"

"No," she whimpered. "I should be in Minnesota."

"_Minnesota_?" Puck echoed. "Why would you say that?"

"Puck, New York was a mistake all along," she said. "I was chasing some fantasy that I made up in my head of being some big, Broadway star. But that's just what it is – a _fantasy_. I wanted to see you before I went home. I wanted to tell you I love you."

"I love you, too…" he answered, and hugged her close. "But don't go back to Minnesota just yet. Stay here for a while, okay? At least until my _Anything Goes _opening night. Please, for me?"

"Alright," she responded, and just as she did, his mother's car pulled into the driveway. His little sister Hannah bounced out quickly, looked at Puck, then Laura, and asked:

"Who's she?"

"Hannah, this is Laura, you know, the girl I've told you about?" Puck answered. "She's the one from Broadway."

"You were on the _Grease_ show!" Hannah cheered. "I voted for you! You're, like, the best singer ever!"

"Thank you, sweetie," Laura smiled at the girl before her, unsure of where to go from that. Mrs. Puckerman came up to them next, who greeted Laura happily. It made Puck's heart swell to know that his mother really liked his girlfriend, regardless of whether she was Jewish or not.

"Laura's going to be staying here for a while," he added.

"That's great!" His mother said, genuinely happy to see her son so happy.

"Right," said Laura. "I'll find a motel room, and – "

" – Oh, no, of course not! You're staying with us!" Puck interrupted. "Right, Mom?"

"Yes, of course," Mrs. Puckerman agreed. "We wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well, thank you," Laura smiled at her. "That's very nice of you. I won't be here long, I'm on my way home…"

"Yes, you are," Puck said, his head brimming with plans for '_Operation: Get Laura Back On Broadway Where She Belongs'_. "You really are."

**Review?**


	40. The First Preview

**I know it's been a long time, but I've been so crazed with schoolwork lately. I love writing this story. I also love reviews, and thank you guys for giving me them. :) I received a review from a Guest for my other story, **_**New York Heart**_**, asking me to update to this story, and I found it very sweet! Thank you! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or have anything to do with the Broadway musical **_**Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark**__. _**The original theatre credits looked like this: **_**Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark – **_**Music and Lyrics by: Bono and The Edge; Book by: Julie Taymore and Glen Berger; Starring: Reeve Carney; Jennifer Damiano; T.V. Carpio; and Patrick Page.**

**Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy. **

"_The first preview – the first, first, first preview! What a night! ...Afterwards, we were like: 'okay, we did it'. We were glad it didn't take a day…it's just, [_Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark]_'s so simple – I feel like everyone wanted to complicate it so much. And, we _are _doing something completely different, things like this have never been done before, on a Broadway stage, ever…_" – Jennifer Damiano

_Chapter Thirty-Nine_

_Rachel's POV_

Reeve and I were on the couch in each other's arms, and when I pressed my cheek against his chest, I slowly closed my eyes. I could hear his heartbeat thumping heavily, and took a breath.

"Are you nervous?" I asked him. This _would _be his Broadway debut after all…

"Am I nervous about the fact that previews for _Spider-man _start tomorrow and we haven't even done a full run-through yet?" He tried to laugh it off sarcastically but I could hear his voice shaking. "Of course not! Why on earth would I be _nervous_?" He wrapped his arms around me to pull me in closer, and kissed me.

"I just don't get it," I added. "Why wouldn't Julie give us more time? We haven't even run through the whole show yet, like you said. And…why wouldn't she give us enough notice? And – "

"I'm sure it's just Julie being Julie," Reeve tried to wave it off. "I've known her a long time. She's like that. She's in her own little world."

"Yeah…" I continued. "But she's a world-renown Broadway director. She really should know better then to – "

"Delivery!" Came an Irish voice and a knock on the dressing room door.

"C'mon in, B!" I yelled back, and Bono entered carrying a huge follow arrangement.

"This is for the both of you," he said, putting it down on my desk in the corner of the room. "Nice hair, Rach!" We all laughed – none of us, myself included, were used to the red hair yet.

"We'll all have to get used to it," I snickered.

"_I _think it looks great!" Reeve cut in. "You look so sexy and – "

"_Okay_, I'm getting out of here!" Bono backed up toward the door. "Break a leg tonight, you little lovebirds, you…" and then, he closed the door behind him. I got up to read the card that came with the flowers, and it read: _Break a leg, Reeve & Rachel! Much love from your online friends, Susan Blackwell & Paul Wontorek._

"Well," Reeve smiled. "Guess the interviewers are rooting for us."

"Aren't they always?" That day, the flowers, cards, and well-wishes kept pouring in. They came from my roommates, from Kurt and Kate, from the _N2N _cast, from other Broadway stars like Ryan Steele and Matt Doyle, Christy Altomare and Andy Mientus, and the Keenan-Bolger siblings. I was floored that they even arrived from people who aren't on Broadway anymore, like Sutton Foster and Sierra Boggess. The best was the papers that came from other casts – one of us would walk into the lobby and find a poster or flyer for another Broadway show with words like '_break a leg tonight, Spider-man! Love, the cast of _(insert show here).

It was all really thoughtful of them, but it made me even more nervous then I already was. This was my first Broadway lead, and I was so unprepared. _All of us _were! I baffles me that Julie would give us so little time, and not even tell us until recently when we'd start previews in the first place… Oh, well. Maybe Reeve's right, and it is just Julie being Julie. And, like they say, the show must go on.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Blaine's POV_

While Puck and Santana ran through _You're The Top _one more time, I texted Kurt about when he would get here. Opening night was in one week from tonight, and we had already talked about him coming down here for it. Tonight was the first preview of Rachel's new show, and he was telling me all about how he and Kate were planning on surprising her at the stage door afterwards. I was glad to be having a nice conversation with him – it had been harder to get a hold of him lately, with he and Kate auditioning for different shows and all – but he said that what happened to Finn and Rachel wouldn't happen to us. We were on the same page about things, and they just weren't. That was their problem, I think – they could never see each other's side of the story; never get on the same page…

Everyone who hadn't met her yet was amazed to see Laura walk into the auditorium with Puck today. When she first laid eyes on her, Harmony's dazed rambling sounded something like this:

"Oh my God…you're _Laura Osnes_…you're so perfect in every way…oh my God, _Anything Goes _and _Grease _and _Bonnie & Clyde_…and you were just a small-town girl like me and now…oh my God, I love you…"

It was hilarious.

Later in the day, back at Puck's house, the mohawked boy deployed his little sister Hannah to distract Laura while he scrolled through her cellphone. He didn't feel good about it, but if it was the only way to get his girlfriend out of her slump and back to where she belongs, then so be it.

"Hello?"

Somewhere in Hollywood, Sutton Foster picked up her phone. She was on the set of her new television show, _Bunheads_, and was relieved to finally see Laura's name come up on her _IPhone _screen – she knew that her former _Anything Goes _cast-mate had been in a slump lately, and felt terrible that she was not around to do something about it. During their time together at _AG_, Laura had become something like a little sister to her, and the last thing she wanted was to stand idly by while she all but threw away her career.

"Is this…Sutton?" Puck asked into her phone.

"Yes…" she responded. "And this is…?"

"I'm Noah Puckerman," Puck said. "Laura's boyfriend. And I really need your help…" Once the plan was set, Sutton sprang into action – but no less, of course, would be expected from Sutton Foster. She made phone call after phone call, and spent over an hour dialing numbers and saying things into her phone like:

"Hello? Sierra? …Yes, I know you're in London, but this is really important… Well, you can bring Ramin and Hadley along with you! There, problem solved! …Oh, don't worry, you'll be back before you can sing the first line of _I Dreamed A Dream_!"

"Willy Chase! My man! How's _Smash _treatin' ya'? …Yes, I've heard your new show is fantastic… I know. But I really need your help because, ya' see, Laura is…"

"Hey Colin, have you heard about Laura yet? …Yes, I've seen the posters for _Green Arrow _all around Hollywood… Yeah, yeah, yeah, you _sure do _look great with no shirt on… Uh-huh. Fabulous. Thank you. Ba-bye."

When she finally put her phone down, Sutton found four wide-eyed girls listening in from around the corner. They were Kaitlyn Jenkins, Bailey Buntain, Emma Dumont and Julia Goldani Telles – the _Bunheads _girls.

"What's going on?" They all asked almost at the same time.

"A very sneaky, confusing plan," Sutton answered them. "Long story short, I'm rallying a bunch of people to go to Ohio with me to save someone from completely ruining their life."

"Can we come with you?"

"What? Why?"

"It could be fun!"

"It's…_Ohio_…"

"Please?"

"Fine…" Sutton finally agreed. "But you all are paying your own way!"

"Yeah!" The girls cheered. "Ohio here we come!"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Rachel's POV_

I wish I could say the show went off without a hitch, but that would be a lie.

First of all, when Spider-man was supposed to fly over the audience after _Rise Above_, he got stuck mid-way through and just dangled there for almost twenty minutes until the crew people could get him down. During _Deeply Furious_, T.V. is supposed to fly around the stage, but it started to fling her out of control and she almost got whiplash. During the course of the show, Patrick, T.V., Isabel, Laura Beth and I all had mic issues and had one point or another just had to project on our own. The sets wouldn't move animatronically like they're supposed to once we got to Act Two, so we had to push them on and off stage ourselves. The wiring is hardly strong enough to hold our weight, so we pretty much have to hold ourselves up whenever any of us are on wires or in harnesses while they fix the problem. Honestly, it doesn't seem safe to me at all – I'm airborne a lot during the show, and it's scary knowing that they haven't worked out all the bugs yet. That's just it – that could summarize tonight completely: we haven't worked out all the bugs yet. We were all just glad we got through it at this point, because of all the problems that we ran into – tonight was like taking a pop quiz in a high school course that you are just terrible at, and though you try everything to get an A, you still end up with C. We just didn't have the time to get ready. We just couldn't hit our desired mark.

We just weren't prepared.

At least I had the stage door to look forward to. It was almost the summer, so it was nice that it was warm enough out, and we could stay outside as long as we wanted. A bunch of different people asked Reeve, T.V., Patrick and I if we were okay, and if we injured tonight, and if our heads hurt at all – that one was especially asked to T.V., who always responded: 'I'm fine, I'm great, actually!'. Even though none of us were about to admit it to each other, we all knew that none of us were fine, or great, at all. We were worried that our worst, most secret fear that we had all kept buried all this time would come true. But like I said, none of us would admit it, not even to each other. We just weren't prepared.

"Hey!" Called Kurt, with Kate right beside him, appearing through the melee of the crowd. "Step aside, people!" He continued as they shifted through the theatre-goers. "Best friend coming through!" When they finally made it to me, they both handed me flowers, and told me how great they thought I was.

"Did you like the show?" I asked hopefully.

"You were fantastic, Rach," Kate said with a smile.

"Thanks," I added. "But what about _the show_? Did you like _the show_?"

"Rachel, you were amazing in the role. Don't ever like anyone tell you otherwise," Kate said in a guiding kind of way. "You were great, especially handling all the mishaps, and especially as your first time in a leading role. Remember that, okay? Don't _ever _let anyone tell you otherwise." As for my question about the show, it seemed she had no answer. After Kurt and Kate left, and after signing more Playbills for the audience and theatre fans, Reeve and I were about to go back in when a familiar face appeared in the crowd.

"Finn? Finn, why are you here?"

"I…honestly don't know," he said. "I just…I don't know. I wanted to see you. You were fantastic."

"Thank you," I sighed. "But Finn, I'm not interested if you don't have anything to say to me. I loved you, but, you know what happened. We just couldn't see eye-to-eye. I'm sorry, but you need to move on."

"What's going on here?" It was Reeve, walking over. Then, to Finn: "What are _you _doing here?"

"You know something?" Finn said to him. "I don't like the way you treat her. Like you have to guard her or something, like she's your property. She's not yours, _Carney_!"

"And what, that makes her _yours_? Get a clue. You're a _high school hero, life zero_, small-town boy from _Lima, Ohio_. And she's a _star_, in case you haven't noticed. So stop trying to keep her in your small-town life. She's bigger then that, and you need to respect that. Why don't you just get out of here?"

"Why don't you not tell me what to do?" Finn shoved him, and all bets were off. Without another word, Reeve punched him in the face, and yelled:

"That's for the way you treated her when you couldn't even bother to view her lifestyle the way she viewed yours! She _always _supported you! And what did you do, huh? You did exactly the opposite! You were _terrible _to her, and this is what you _deserve_!"

"Reeve, stop!" I yelled, holding him back. "Stop fighting, please! Just stop, the both of you!" And with a final look at Finn, I dragged Reeve back into the theater without another word.

**Review, please?**


	41. Saving Laura

**I really should be studying for my geometry test right now…but I'm not, I just don't feel like it, so…here ya' go! Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

****_"I think if I had written it out myself, I wouldn't have planned it as good as this. In my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined all of the amazing opportunities that I've had." -_Laura Osnes

_Chapter Forty_

_Blaine's POV_

"Hey! Hey! _Hey_!" Santana yelled over our cast and crew, in an attempt to get them to finally shut up. "Where the _hell _is Puck?"

"Don't know!" I shrugged. "That's what we're trying to find out!"

"Less then a week 'til opening night, and our _leading man _isn't here?" Harmony snorted. "_That's _professional!"

"Everyone calm down!" Shelby Corcoran, our director, yowled over the ruckus of scared drama club kids, nervous stage crew-ers, and, well, the few glee club members who knew that this was simply classic Noah Puckerman.

"Blaine," she continued. "Could I see you for a minute – alone?"

"Uh, sure," I said, and walked over, suddenly timid, to the edge of the stage where our director currently sat. "What's up?"

"If Puck continues to not show up for rehearsal, or not take it seriously, you're going on as Billy," she said, looking straight at me, in a matter-of-fact sort of tone. "Just thought you should be prepared." I stared at her for a second, mouth agape, unable to speak or move or do anything. "Yes, Ms. Corcoran," I said, finally. "Thank you! Oh my God…_thank you_!"

Meanwhile, Puck opened his front door and shooed a bunch of mysterious looking people inside his house. He really didn't know who any of them were, expect for that girl named Sutton, who quickly said 'thanks for the call' when she approached him.

"Thanks for helping me," he responded.

"Anything for Laura," Sutton said, like this was something she did every day. All of these people were acting like that – like traveling to another state and bombarding someone like this was totally normal. Puck figured that maybe, with their exciting lives, it was. Four younger-looking girls followed quickly behind Sutton's side, and Hannah Puckerman immediately recognized them, exclaiming that they were 'the _Bunheads _girls!' with girlish giddiness.

"Hannah, pipe down!" Puck sneered through his teeth. "Laura's upstairs!"

Along with Sutton and the girls came a redhead who seemed bubbly and cheery, but not in a fake kind of way at all – in a way where, her happiness seemed contagious. Sutton greeted her as 'Sierra', and asked her how London was. With the redhead came two guys, one of which who looked at her like they'd know each other their entire lives. Also entering Puck's house was a guy with bright eyes and an unshaven scruff, another guy who looked a bit older and wore a Yankees hat, a blonde girl who was glued to the side of the only person whom Puck had actually met face-to-face, Laura's _Bonnie & Clyde _co-star, Jeremy Jordan. Entering last was a long-faced boy who wore his hair with a particular swirl, like he was Danny Zuko or something. _Oh… _thought Puck, _maybe he was._

"Hey," Puck said, walking over to him. "Are…are you…the guy who played Danny when Laura was Sandy in _Grease_?"

"Yeah," he said. "That's me. I'm Max. Max Crumm. And…you're the boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Puck laughed. "I'm the boyfriend. It's just…the way Laura talks about you, like – "

"Like we owe our careers to each other?" Max suggested. "Yup. That's the way it is."

After talking to Max, Puck decided he should talk to each of the people their before he went to get Laura – she still had no idea that this was even going on; she was upstairs and Puck had told her that he had to go to rehearsal, but not to come down because Hannah was having her friends over so they could work on their science project. He started with Jeremy Jordan, because he had already met him, and the _Newsies _star introduced the blonde that was with him as his wife, Ashley. Apparently, Ashley also knew Laura through the _Grease _reality show she was on – Ashley was on it too, and came in second place, loosing only to Laura herself. But, there were no hard feelings, and now they were good friends. Next came Sutton, and her four followers – he was happy to meet her face-to-face, not only because they had talked on the phone, but also because of the way Laura talked about her…like she was a goddess or something. Since she didn't burst out into song and dance, Puck couldn't tell if her talent really was that incredible, but she was really funny without even trying to be. Next, came the older-looking guy with the lighter hair color and Yankees cap. When Puck said hi to him, he responded:

"Hi. I'm Will Chase. Thanks for having us here today. It's a good thing you're doing, you know – saving Laura and all."

"Of course," he responded. "How…how do you know her?"

"We did lots of charity performances together, recorded on the same demos, seen each other in auditions – you know, we're just in the same circle."

"It's nice of you to come all the way out here," Puck praised. "You know, since you guys aren't super-close or anything…"

"Who wouldn't wanna help Ossy get back on 'er feet?" He smiled. "Anything for Laura." After talking more with Will about _Smash_, his new television show, Puck found himself talking to the bright-green-eyed Colin Donnell – who, according to Sutton, was the Billy to Laura's Hope in _Anything Goes_.

"I…I'm playing Billy Crocker in my high school production of _Anything Goes _right now," he told him sort of inadvertently sheepishly. "Any tips?"

"Honestly, with Billy, it's just about trying your best," Colin instructed. "Pulling out all the stops. Not taking the easy way out. His characterization isn't complicated, like Reno's or Bonnie's, for example. He just have to put your best effort in, and hope your good enough for Cole Porter's standards. Make sense?"

"Yeah," said Puck, suddenly feeling guilty for skipping out on rehearsal today. "Makes sense." Lastly, Puck came to the redhead and two guys who came with her, and said hello to them. As a response, the ginger hugged him. But it wasn't an awkward, 'I-don't-even-know-you-why-are-you-hugging-me' kind of hug, it was a genuine kind of hug, like this girl gives hugs and spreads happiness all the time – like Santa Claus or Elmo or a Disney princess.

"It's great to meet you," she said warmly. "I'm Sierra, and this is Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser. Thank you for having us." They two guys nodded at him and both thanked him also, so Puck said:

"No, thank _you _for coming! I couldn't do this without all of your help."

"It's very sweet," Sierra said with a smile. "What you're doing for her, I mean. You must be a great boyfriend!"

"Well…uh…thanks," Puck smiled like an idiot. Coming from this girl, even though Puck had just met her, it seemed to be the greatest compliment ever. "How do you know Laura?"

"We're good friends," Sierra explained. "When she was in _Grease_, we were at theaters right next to each other. These two," she gestured to Hadley and Ramin, who were now in their own conversation with Sutton, "really don't know her very well. But I just brought them along. I hope that's alright with you."

"Sure," the mohawked boy nodded. "Of course. Can I…can I ask you something? It might seem a little weird thought…"

"Anything," said Sierra, with a small giggle. That fit her perfectly, Puck figured – her laugh was not a laugh, but a light, happy giggle.

"It's just…" he started. "This is gonna sound weird," he warned. "You just…your personality matches Laura's voice. That doesn't make sense, does it? I mean, Laura's voice is like…angles, and goodness, and…is that why you're friends? Because your personality matches her voice?"

Sierra giggled some more, and finally responded: "Maybe. I've never thought about it like that before!" Overhearing what Puck had said, Sutton called out:

"She's a regular Disney princess, ain't she?" And put her arm around the redhead.

"Actually…I was just thinking that!" Puck exclaimed, and Sutton, Ramin, and Hadley all started laughing along with Sierra. "What's so funny?" The football player asked.

"It's just that," Sierra started – her eyes twinkled as she recalled a memory. "My Broadway debut…I was Ariel in _The Little Mermaid_. It was my one and only Broadway show."

"One and only?" Puck questioned, not believing it. "But…you're – "

"She's a West End girl, honey," Sutton told him, and elbowed Sierra playfully.

"What's…what's West End?" He asked a little shyly. "I'm still new to theatre-language, sorry."

"Basically," the redhead answered. "It's like London's Broadway."

"But," Sutton interjected. "They performers aren't _nearly _as talented!"

"Ladies, ladies, please," Ramin spoke, playfully breaking them up, while Hadley fist pumped in the air, chanting 'fight – fight – fight!'.

"But…you don't have an English accent…" Puck added, half as a statement and half as a question.

"I'm not actually from England," Sierra told him. "I'm from Denver."

"Then…why aren't you on Broadway? Why go all the way to London?"

Sierra shrugged and said: "Guess that's just how it turned out."

Finally, Puck ventured up the stairs and brought Laura down with him. At the sight of all her peers, she gasped, and stared straight at Puck after a brief moment of shock.

"You…why? _How_?"

"It's complicated," he answered. "But it doesn't matter. Laura, these people are all here to take you home."

"What are you talking about?" She demanded. "What is this about?"

"Laur," Max started. "We're here to show you who you are. Obviously, you've forgotten. Remember when we won _Grease: You're The One That I Want!_ ? Remember that feeling of winning, and getting everything you've ever wanted handed to you like that? Hey, Ash – " he looked over to Ashley. " – How bad did it suck to…you know, _loose_?"

"Not the time or place, Maxie!" Jeremy yowled, putting an arm around his wife.

"Right," Sutton continued. "What Max was trying to say is…you've worked your whole life for this. You can't just throw it all away. You can't just…not believe in yourself…"

"Why shouldn't I?" Laura said meekly, studying her shoes.

"Because…" said Sierra. "We all do."

Tears filled Laura's eyes as she remembered that feeling – that feeling that she only lived for – love. That's what actors all wanted, isn't it? Love. That's what spotlights and applause create, isn't it? Love. She kissed Puck, and said very softly:

"Thank you. Thank you for helping me find myself again."

"You were never really gone," Puck told her. "You just weren't acknowledging it."

"So…everyone!" Laura called out to the crowd of Broadway stars. "Before we all go home…I've got a favor to ask." She looked back at Puck and continued: "This one has…his first ever debut in less then a week…feel like taking a walk down memory lane and perfecting a high school production?"

Puck couldn't stop smiling when they all agreed.

**Review?**


	42. Empty Chairs At Empty Tables

**I know it's been a long time, but between the boat-loads of schoolwork I've been getting, midyear exams next week, and my school's musical starting up again (it's **_**Grease **_**and I'm Sandy), I've had no time for writing much of anything, a part from some one-shots here and there. I did start a new story called **_**The Princess & The Pauper**_**: check it out if you want to. Also, I've added some more Broadway/West End faces to the story, so get ready. Remember to review. Thanks and enjoy.**

"_So, get out there and figure out what you're passionate about. And usually the easiest way to do that is to figure out what makes you angry. __Cause if you find your anger, you will find your passion for what you want to do in the world._" – Kate Shindle

_Chapter Forty-One_

_Kurt's POV_

"_'Ow do you do? My name's Gavroche –_

_These are my people, here's my patch._

_Not much to look at, nothing posh – _

_Nothing that you'd call up to scratch._

_This is my school, my high society,_

_Here in the slums of Saint Michele!_

_We live on crumbs of humble piety,_

_Tough on the teeth, but what the hell!_

_Think you're poor?_

_Think you're free?_

_Follow me! Follow me!_"

Nothing is more intimidating than listening to a probably-around-twelve-year-old New York boy sing with a spot-on Cockney accent. Kate sat on a cold, black fold-out chair next to me, tapping her boot-clad feet on the hardwood floor in perfect rhythm to _Look Down_. Only a closed door separated the two of us from the boy, as we sat here with sheet music in our hands. Kate had told me this morning that she was taking me on an adventure – I didn't know that _adventure _meant _audition_.

"Katie," I murmured, as we weren't really supposed to be making much noise in the waiting room. "Why are we here? Not that you wouldn't make an _amazing _Fantine, but _Les Mis _isn't be revived for at least another year – and I thought you'd made some calls about _Wicked_?"

"Why would you settle for a tourist show when you could be in a _musical sensation_, Kurtsie?" She responded to my question with one of her own, and winked at me. She was right. She was completely, totally right, but this fact didn't keep me from shaking like a traumatized puppy. "And to answer your first question, _Les Mis _will need a cast for workshops – even if we aren't cast for the Broadway run, it's still something. So why not through our hats in the ring?"

I nodded in agreement, but didn't want to tell Kate what I was thinking – there is so much type casting going on now, and I'm just not 'the type' for any _Les Mis _characters – unless, of course, I pretend to be ten through twelve and say I'm auditioning for Gavroche…

"Next!" A voice barked as the door opened and the boy strode out with a huge smile on his face. He must've done well.

"Wish me luck," Kate said softly as she picked up her sheet music and walked into the audition room, closing the door behind her. I took a deep breath – I was nervous for her. In a moment, I could make out the intro to _I Dreamed A Dream_, and mouthed the first few lyrics as Kate sang them to the casting directors in the other room. God, her voice was golden. I couldn't have been happier, hearing her sing, thinking of getting back in the saddle again. I was so _sad _without a show to do – so _angry _that I felt so powerless. But that was over now. The grief of _Wonderland_'s loss was over now. I could start again; I could go on now…

"Excuse me? Sir?"

I blinked, and looked down – the boy was still here, and looking straight at me.

"Um…yes?"

"Do you have a phone on you? I really want to call my mom."

"Uh…yeah, I do. Here you go." And I handed him my IPhone.

"Thanks," said the boy, and punching in a phone number. He put it up to his ear, and waited as it rang. Finally, at the other end of phone, a woman's voice said 'hello?' and the boy exclaimed:

"Mom, it's me, I really think I got it!"

Nothing warmed my heart more than that look on the boy's face. Its moments like these that make me think about the future – me and Blaine, hopefully, in our New York apartment that's all our own, shared with two or three kids; we'd have a piano in the apartment, because this one would be big enough, and we'd teach the kids to play and sing and dance and –

"Thanks, Mister…" the boy trailed off, waiting for my name.

"I'm Kurt," I told him. "Kurt Hummel."

"Thanks for letting me use your phone, Mr. Hummel," the boy handed me my phone back. "I'm Lewis."

"Lewis…" I started, thinking – I'd seen him before. "Are you from…?"

"_Newsies_," he supplied me with my answer. "I'm in _Newsies_."

"With Jeremy Jordan!" I snapped my fingers. "That's where I know you from! My good friend – Rachel Berry, from _Next To Normal _– her roommate, Laura, was in _Bonnie & Clyde _with Jeremy Jordan. I must've seen you before."

"Yeah, that's right!" Lewis smiled. "It's funny – everybody on Broadway has worked with somebody who's worked with somebody who's friends with somebody…it's like we're all family, even if we don't know each other – meeting each other is like a family reunion!"

Wiser words have never been spoken by a young boy – except maybe from the mouth of Gavroche.

"Next!"

Kate emerged from the doorway, sheet music in her arms, and gave me a huge hug.

"Do you think you got it?" I asked.

"I don't want to jinx it…"

"Okay," I told her. "Squeeze me once for 'no', twice for 'yes'."

Katie squeezed me twice.

"Next!" The same voice called again.

"I guess that's me," I murmured, and as Kate gripped my hand for luck, I turned towards the door; a deep breath filled my lungs. This was it.

The audition room had a wall-to-wall mirror on one side of the room, and a large window on the other. Sitting at the table on the opposite side of me were four people: Cameron Mackintosh, _Les Mis_'s most notable producer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, the composer, Paul Wontorek, the head of Broadway's website, and Samantha Barks, who played Eponine in both the twenty-fifth anniversary concert and in the new movie.

I could hardly breathe.

"Hello there, sweetheart," it was Samantha who spoke – God, she was so perfectly _British_!

"Oh!" I snapped back into reality – this was the big time. "Hello!" I passed them my resume, gave the pianist my sheet music, and stood in the center of the room, with the four people sitting behind the table facing me, and the mirror behind me. I cleared my throat and said:

"Hello, I'm Kurt Hummel, and I'll be singing _Empty Chairs At Empty Tables_."

And then, I closed my eyes, and sang:

"_There's a grief that can't be spoken._

_There's a pain goes on and on._

_Empty chairs at empty tables_

_Now my friends are dead and gone._

_Here they talked of revolution._

_Here it was they lit the flame._

_Here they sang about `tomorrow'_

_And tomorrow never came._

_From the table in the corner_

_They could see a world reborn_

_And they rose with voices ringing_

_I can hear them now!_

_The very words that they had sung_

_Became their last communion_

_On the lonely barricade at dawn._

_Oh my friends, my friends forgive me – _

_That I live and you are gone._

_There's a grief that can't be spoken._

_There's a pain goes on and on._

_Phantom faces at the window._

_Phantom shadows on the floor._

_Empty chairs at empty tables_

_Where my friends will meet no more._

_Oh my friends, my friends, don't ask me_

_What your sacrifice was for_

_Empty chairs at empty tables_

_Where my friends will meet no more!_"

I opened my eyes, and they were clapping.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

_Blaine's POV_

I think Harmony's going to die of fangirling. I'm serious.

"_Oh_. _My_. _God_…" she shrieked when Puck walked into rehearsal with Laura and a bunch of her Broadway star friends in tow; she tried to continue, but could find no words, and just buried her head in her hands, and screamed.

"Everyone!" Puck called, jumping up on stage. "I know I haven't been as committed to this show as I should've been in the past…"

"You've got that right!" Santana jeered, tilting her Reno Sweeny sailor hat.

"Thanks, San, you're a great friend," Puck yowled sarcastically, smirking at his female lead.

"But anyway, as I was saying," he continued. "I'm going to change that!" And he gestured to the actors and actresses behind him, naming them all off as he introduced them: "This is Sutton Foster, Colin Donnell, Sierra Boggess, Ramin Karimloo, Hadley Fraser, Jeremy Jordan, Ashley Spencer, Will Chase, and, of course, Laura Osnes. All of them are theatre stars in their own rights – some of them have even been in _this show on Broadway_! – and they've agreed to help us turn this show around from sucking to being mind-blowingly epic. Tomorrow's opening night. With their help, I really think we can turn this production around – that is, if we're all willing to work at it. So what do you say? Are you with me?"

Everyone cheered in agreement.


End file.
